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.

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

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1# # # # # # Y L F N O M L A S
2# # Y # W # # # Y L F Y A M T
3# S # L # A # # # # M # O C O
4D M I # F # T # # U # S # R N
5R R # D # N # E S # Q N # A E
6A O # # E # O S R U # A # Y F
7G W # # # S E S I P # I # F L
8O C # # # L W T B H E L # I Y
9N I # # # # O I # O C N # S #
10F T Y L F L E S M A D E N H #
11L A # # A E G D I M # # E Y #
12Y U # R I F F L E B E E T L E
13# Q V # # # # # # # # R # # #
14# A # # # Y L F S I D D A C #
15A L D E R F L Y L F E N A R C
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  115e
AQUATICWORMS  214n
CADDISFLY  1414w
CRANEFLY  1515w
CRAYFISH  143s
DAMSELFLY  1110w
DOBSONFLY  1110nw
DRAGONFLY  14s
LEECH  1412nw
MAYFLY  142w
MIDGE  1011w
MOSQUITOLARVA  88sw
MUSSEL  113sw
RIFFLEBEETLE  412e
SALMONFLY  151w
SIDESWIMMER  23se
SNAIL  124s
STONEFLY  151s
WATERPENNY  52se