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.

S D F W A T E R P E N N Y N V
C O S M R O W C I T A U Q A D
R B I U I E N S H K W F V L R
A S D Y H D G Z L I Q R S D A
N O E L W V G E P S A I T E G
E N S F S L S E O L Y F O R O
F F W N G S G A O L H F N F N
L L I O U P C T F S W L E L F
Y Y M M G Z I S I E E E F Y L
I L M L K U I F I E H B L H Y
A F E A Q D Y H C F H E Y P L
T Y R S D A A H X F Y E I F I
B A O A R B F B I Y V T B A A
T M C C D A M S E L F L Y C N
N R N Q P T I D Y S V E Z C S
Brought to you by WordSearchFun.com



Answer Key for A Macroinvertebrate Search

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1# D # W A T E R P E N N Y # #
2C O S M R O W C I T A U Q A D
3R B I # I # # # # # # # V L R
4A S D Y # D # # L # # R S D A
5N O E L # # G E # # A I T E G
6E N S F # # S E # L Y F O R O
7F F W N # S # # O L H F N F N
8L L I O U # # T F S # L E L F
9Y Y M M # # I S I # E E F Y L
10# L M L # U I F # E # B L # Y
11# F E A Q D Y # C # # E Y # L
12# Y R S D A # H # # # E # # I
13# A O A R # # # # # # T # # A
14# M C C D A M S E L F L Y # N
15# # # # # # # # # # # E # # S
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  142s
AQUATICWORMS  142w
CADDISFLY  314ne
CRANEFLY  12s
CRAYFISH  414ne
DAMSELFLY  514e
DOBSONFLY  21s
DRAGONFLY  152s
LEECH  128sw
MAYFLY  214n
MIDGE  42se
MOSQUITOLARVA  88ne
MUSSEL  49ne
RIFFLEBEETLE  124s
SALMONFLY  412n
SIDESWIMMER  32s
SNAIL  1515n
STONEFLY  134s
WATERPENNY  41e