A Macroinvertebrate Search

ALDERFLY
AQUATICWORMS
CADDISFLY
CRANEFLY
CRAYFISH
DAMSELFLY
DOBSONFLY
DRAGONFLY
LEECH
MAYFLY
MIDGE
MOSQUITOLARVA
MUSSEL
RIFFLEBEETLE
SALMONFLY
SIDESWIMMER
SNAIL
STONEFLY
WATERPENNY

Macroinvertebrates are a diverse group of animals, ranging from insects and crustaceans to molluscs and worms. They have been around for about 500 million years and some were even living in our waterways before the dinosaurs! Different aquatic macroinvertebrates have different tolerance levels to water pollution. Some water critters are sensitive to pollution, which means if the waterway was to become polluted they will die or move elsewhere. Other critters are tolerant to pollution, meaning they can survive in polluted water. By sampling a waterway for macroinvertebrates and identifying what’s there you will get a good indication of water quality and habitat condition. This word search contains the names of the different kinds of macroinvertebrate one might find in a typical freshwater stream. Good Luck!

Try to find all 19 words on this board.

X E B Y L F N O G A R D Q D K
Y A Q U A T I C W O R M S T K
X T V E W U T N B O W I C Y D
M B A R O Y F P E P D U L K X
Y H X I A X L V P E O F H Y L
L Y Y F K L B F S V L D L I Y
F L F F A V O W N E R F A R N
E F Q L S L I T S O S N H B N
N N S E E M D M I I S S G X E
O O F B M E A E D U I B V E P
T M F E U D C D R F Q X O G R
S L R E S W A H Y F Q S E D E
V A A T S C F A N E L S O I T
N S C L E W R R Y L F Y A M A
W M R E L C Y L F E N A R C W
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Answer Key for A Macroinvertebrate Search

X
Y
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1# # # Y L F N O G A R D # # #
2# A Q U A T I C W O R M S # #
3# # V # # # # # # # # I # Y #
4# # # R # Y # # # # D # L # #
5Y # # I A # L # # E # F # Y L
6L Y # F # L # F S # L # L I Y
7F L # F A # O W N E # F A # N
8E F # L # L I T S O S N H # N
9N N # E E M D M I I S S # # E
10O O # B M E A E D U I B # E P
11T M # E U D C D R F Q # O G R
12S L R E S # A H Y F # S # D E
13# A # T S C # A # # L # O I T
14# S # L E # R # Y L F Y A M A
15# # # E L C Y L F E N A R C W
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  57se
AQUATICWORMS  22e
CADDISFLY  613ne
CRANEFLY  1415w
CRAYFISH  615ne
DAMSELFLY  611ne
DOBSONFLY  1412nw
DRAGONFLY  121w
LEECH  48se
MAYFLY  1414w
MIDGE  1414n
MOSQUITOLARVA  88nw
MUSSEL  510s
RIFFLEBEETLE  44s
SALMONFLY  214n
SIDESWIMMER  132sw
SNAIL  119ne
STONEFLY  112n
WATERPENNY  1515n