6. Reptiles Queen Snake – common in our area - non-venomous Northern Water Snake – aggressive but non-venomous
7. None of the previous animals are used to indicate the quality of water in an area – they are nice to find, but are often the first to go if the water is not good.
8. Indicators of Water Quality Macroinvertebrates – without backbones, large enough to be seen Many of the macroinvertebrates are insect larvae that spend part of their life cycle as aquatic organisms (note the gills on the pictures)
9. The macroinvertebrates are divided into groups based on their tolerance of poor water conditions. Group 1 – indicators of good water quality. These have low tolerance of pollutants. Group 2 – indicators of fair water quality. These have moderate tolerance of pollutants. Group 3 – indicators of poor water quality. These have high tolerance of pollutants.
10. 1 Food for many fish Stonefly nymph Stonefly adult
11. 1 Food for many fish Mayfly adult Mayfly nymph
12. Dobsonfly adult 1 Dobsonfly larva Food for many fish – good bait too!
13. 1 Found in little cases of sand and sticks on the bottom of rocks. Caddisfly adult Caddisfly larva
14. 1 Found on the bottom of rocks. Water Penny larva
15. 1 These are not the water striders that might also be found. Riffle Beetle adults
16. 2 Adults hold wings together when resting. Damselfly larvae Damselfly adult
17. 2 Larvae are voracious predators – often catching fish and tadpoles! Adults hold wings parallel when resting. Dragonfly nymph Dragonfly adult
18. 2 Cranefly larvae Cranefly adult Might also find horsefly larvae – similar but larger! These are not giant mosquitoes! They are harmless and lousy flyers. Crane Fly larvae Crane Fly adult
24. 3 Segmented worms – only some are blood suckers. Good bait too! Leech
25. 3 This insect larva lives in the silt and is often called a “blood worm” due to its red color. Midge larvae
26. 3 This insect larva has a suction cup on one end to ancor it to rocks. Black Fly larvae
27. 1 3 Right hand snails – have gills and need water with higher oxygen levels Left hand snails – have lungs and breathe air - can live in polluted water