A Great Day on the Creek

Emily beams with excitement in the "outdoor classroom"!

We had a great day taking a closer look at the macros in the Valley Creek!
Thanks to Jane Fava and Kathy Bergmann for sharing their expertise and knowledge with us, and to Giselle and Emily for organizing the workshop!

Jane takes a closer look at a bug which appears to be a Black Fly larvae.

Damselfly Nymph

One of the groups was lucky enough to find a damselfly nymph!

This bug can easily be separated from it's cousin odonate, the dragonfly, by looking at the tail. The damselfly nymph tail is a set of three "paddles" (best seen as paddles from a side view).

Some odonate species can live underwater in the nymph stage for several years before they emerge on land and take their first flight.

Mayfly larvae and Stonefly "skin"?

When taking a closer look at the mayfly larvae in this cube, I noticed what appears to be the "skin" of a stonefly larvae on the right middle side--notice the two tails, and transparent body shell

Mayfly Larvae

A mayfly larvae, with its three long tails, hangs onto the right side of the cube.

closer look--Fingernet Caddisfly Larvae

A closer view of the fingernet caddisfly larvae.