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

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1Y # # # # C R A N E F L Y # #
2N A # # D R A G O N F L Y # #
3N Q V # # Y L F E N O T S # #
4E U # R I F F L E B E E T L E
5P A # # A L D E R F L Y # # #
6R T # # # L Y L F N O S B O D
7E I # L # # O # E # # # # # A
8T C # # E E # T # E # # # # M
9A W # # G S N A I L C # # Y S
10W O # D # # S # # U # H # L E
11# R I # # # # U # # Q # # F L
12# M # Y L F N O M L A S # Y F
13# S I D E S W I M M E R O A L
14# # # # # H S I F Y A R C M Y
15# # # # # # C A D D I S F L Y
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  55e
AQUATICWORMS  22s
CADDISFLY  715e
CRANEFLY  61e
CRAYFISH  1314w
DAMSELFLY  156s
DOBSONFLY  156w
DRAGONFLY  52e
LEECH  86se
MAYFLY  1414n
MIDGE  212ne
MOSQUITOLARVA  88nw
MUSSEL  912nw
RIFFLEBEETLE  44e
SALMONFLY  1212w
SIDESWIMMER  213e
SNAIL  69e
STONEFLY  133w
WATERPENNY  110n