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.

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

X
Y
123456789101112131415
1# Y L F S I D D A C # # # # #
2# M Y L F N O G A R D # # # #
3C A O # # # # # # # # # # # #
4R Y C S I D E S W I M M E R Y
5A F R T Q Y O # # # I U # # L
6N L A O # U N B # # D S # # F
7E Y Y N # # I N S # G S # # L
8F # F E # # # T E O E E # # E
9L # I F # # # # O P N L # # S
10Y # S L # H C E E L R F # # M
11# # H Y L F R E D L A E L # A
12E L T E E B E L F F I R T Y D
13# # # # # # # # # # # # V A #
14# # S M R O W C I T A U Q A W
15# Y L F N O M L A S N A I L #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  1111w
AQUATICWORMS  1414w
CADDISFLY  101w
CRANEFLY  13s
CRAYFISH  34s
DAMSELFLY  1512n
DOBSONFLY  64se
DRAGONFLY  112w
LEECH  1010w
MAYFLY  22s
MIDGE  114s
MOSQUITOLARVA  88se
MUSSEL  124s
RIFFLEBEETLE  1212w
SALMONFLY  1015w
SIDESWIMMER  44e
SNAIL  1015e
STONEFLY  44s
WATERPENNY  1514nw