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.

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

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1Y # # Y N N E P R E T A W # #
2L M Y L F N O G A R D # # # #
3F # O # M U S S E L Y # # S #
4L C Y S T O N E F L Y # I M #
5E R L N Q # # # F # # D I R #
6S A F A # U # S # # E D # O S
7M Y E I # # I # # S G # H W A
8A F N L # D # T W E # # C C L
9D I A # D # # I O # # # E I M
10# S R A # # M # # L # # E T O
11# H C # # M # # # # A # L A N
12E L T E E B E L F F I R # U F
13# # # R # # M A Y F L Y V Q L
14# # Y L F N O S B O D # # A Y
15# Y L F R E D L A # # # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  915w
AQUATICWORMS  1414n
CADDISFLY  311ne
CRANEFLY  311n
CRAYFISH  24s
DAMSELFLY  19n
DOBSONFLY  1114w
DRAGONFLY  112w
LEECH  1311n
MAYFLY  713e
MIDGE  144sw
MOSQUITOLARVA  88se
MUSSEL  53e
RIFFLEBEETLE  1212w
SALMONFLY  156s
SIDESWIMMER  143sw
SNAIL  44s
STONEFLY  44e
WATERPENNY  131w