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.

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

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1# # # # D O B S O N F L Y # #
2# A # # # W A T E R P E N N Y
3D Q V A L D E R F L Y R # Y #
4R U # R I F F L E B E E T L E
5A A Y # A # # E # M # Y # F C
6G T # L # L C # M # # L # N R
7O I C # F H O I # # # F # O A
8N C # A # L W T # # # E # M Y
9F W R # D S E # I # # N # L F
10L O # A E D # S # U # O # A I
11Y R # D N # I # M # Q T # S S
12# M I D G E # S # A # S # # H
13# S N A I L F # F # D # O # #
14# # M U S S E L Y L F Y A M #
15# # # # # # # # Y # Y # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  43e
AQUATICWORMS  22s
CADDISFLY  37se
CRANEFLY  28se
CRAYFISH  155s
DAMSELFLY  1113nw
DOBSONFLY  51e
DRAGONFLY  13s
LEECH  103sw
MAYFLY  1414w
MIDGE  212e
MOSQUITOLARVA  88nw
MUSSEL  314e
RIFFLEBEETLE  44e
SALMONFLY  1411n
SIDESWIMMER  213ne
SNAIL  213e
STONEFLY  1212n
WATERPENNY  62e