Tanks in the Black River?

Not quite, but we DID discover armored mayfly larvae last Sunday! Of the genus Baetisca, these cute little buggers are uniquely shaped for their kind. Instead of being long and sleek, Baetisca mayfly larvae are like tiny HumVees: round and hump-backed, with “poky bits” that look like thorns sticking out around a hardened shell-like structure. Sure, they have the typical trio of hair-like tail, but they are much shorter in relation to the body than I expected.

There’s a terrific image of these guys at one of my favorite bug Web site, Bug Guide: http://bugguide.net/node/view/53289/bgpage

The kids in Ms. Calcagni’s science class at Riverside Middle School found dozens of these little guys, which are generally considered moderately sensitive to sensitive when it comes to polluted waters. I’d say they are a pretty good indication that the Black River has a wide diversity of critters, many of which will only live in clean, healthy water!