Macroinvertebrates
Stonefly
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are very helpful to us in terms of how faithfully their presence indicates good water quality in the wild. One of the big three species is the stonefly, which actually has many, many species worldwide and which lives its adult life terrestrially (or, walking on the land or flying).
One of the key macro invertebrates is the stonefly, which spends most of its life as larvae in the water, crawling along the bottom of streams and rivers, and clinging to the underside of rocks and woody debris. Some stoneflies are predators (eating other bugs), while others eat plants and algae or decaying organic matter. Because they are sensitive to changes in water quality, particularly changes in dissolved oxygen and water temperature, the stoneflies are important indicators of water quality.
To print out the artwork for coloring, simply right-click the image, click Open in a New Tab; then, select Print from your pulldown File menu, re-size as necessary using the Print Dialogue box, hit Print, and color away!
For other macroinvertebrate coloring pages, simply click the links below and follow the same process:
Artwork by FRWA member Mary Budkoski