In this issue: High School Students Teach New York City Residents About Drinking Water; Macroinvertebrate Review: Corydalidae vs. Hydropsychidae; Macroinvertebrate Images for Classroom Use.
High School Students Teach New York City Residents About Drinking Water
To educate New York City residents about their drinking water supply, twelve high school students traveled 200-miles in July, from the Catskill Mountains to NYC.
It took them three weeks to hike, tube, and row (80 miles on the Hudson River alone!) from the source of the water supply to the city itself – from Mountaintop to Tap.
They chronicled their journey in words and photographs and you can see their daily journal entries at the website below. In 2008, the trekkers will put on a photography exhibit in various locations in the city and the upstate watershed communities.
The trekkers had an amazing adventure and are already on their way to changing the world! For example, the six trekkers from Sidney High School, convinced their principal and superintendent to eliminate bottled water from the school by giving every student a refillable plastic bottle. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection heard the news and supplied close to 500 bottles to the school.
Please visit https://stroudcenter.org/projects/mountaintop-to-tap-trek/
Macroinvertebrate Review: Corydalidae vs. Hydropsychidae
I wanted to use this “corner” to give a review of two of the most misidentified insects. You may be thinking it is easy to see the difference when they are side by side, but I want you to be familiar with the characteristics of these insects. Use our identification key to see how the two insects are distinguished.
Common Characteristics
- Six jointed legs on the thorax
- No observable wing pads on the thorax
- Observable hooks at the end of the body
How They Differ
Corydalidae have:
Lateral filaments on the abdomen. Remember: lateral = at the side.
Hydropsychidae have:
Branched gills on the underside of the abdomen
See the Fall 2008 LPN Newsletter to review the differences between mayflies and stoneflies!
Macroinvertebrate Images for Classroom Use
Interested in detailed, up-close images of macroinvertebrates to use as an introduction or a review with your students?
We have the answer!
David Funk, Assistant Director of the Stroud Water Research Center, made some of his amazing macroinvertebrate images available online in the form of a slide show.
Please note: All images must retain photo credit to David H. Funk, as copyright laws apply.
