Ethan Allen Homestead Roadside Pond

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Streams logo web.jpg Ethan Allen Homestead Roadside Pond
Basin:Winooski
State or Province:Vermont
Country:USA
Latitude:44.505877
Longitude:-73.233019
School:Hunt Middle School



This page includes macroinvertebrates collected from the pond just west of the bikepath bridge at the Ethan Allen Homestead. The site is based upon samples taken by the dedicated students from Hunt Middle School grades 7 and 8. Nice work scientists!!


Chironomidae

Chironomidae.jpg
Order
Diptera
Family
Chironomidae


Common name
Nonbiting midge
Tied fly
Griffith's Gnat
Midge larvae tend to be the most common macroinvertebrate at our sites. As with other Diptera, there are no true jointed legs. Chironomidae do have a pair of prolegs at each end and preserved individuals tend to curl into a 'C'. Identification past family requires slide-mounted heads. We have seen philopotamid caddisflies misidentified with the chironomids and we suspect that that happens when samples are being sorted from trays. Under a microscope, six prominent legs can be seen on members of the caddisfly family Philopotamidae.

More information on Philopotamidae.




Physidae

Physidae.jpg
Family
Physidae


Members of the family Physidae belong in the class of Gastropoda. Members contain a single, coiled shell with a left handed spiral going counterclockwise. Belonging to the family of aquatic pulmonates, members breathe air using a structure similar to a lung.

Images of the family Physidae, the class of Gastropodaand a shell with a left-handed spiral.




Lymnaeidae

Lymnaeidae.jpg
Family
Lymnaeidae


Members of the family Lymnaeidae belong in the class of Gastropoda. Members contain a single, coiled shell with a right-handed spiral. Differing from those of Planorbidae, members of Lymnaeidae have a larger opening. Respiration in these snails are through lung-like structures. Preferred habitats include those with slow streaming waters and heavy vegetation. These right handed snails are somewhat less tolerant of water pollution than our other common snails.

Images of the family Lymnaeidae and the class Gastropoda.




Pisidiidae

Sphaerium corneum.jpg
Order
Veneroida
Family
Pisidiidae


Fingernail clams are the most common small clams that we find in Vermont rivers. Larger bivalves should not be sampled because they may belong to a protected species. Under no circumstances should clams be moved from one river site to another.




Libellulidae

Libellulidae.jpg
Order
Odonata
Family
Libellulidae


Common name
Skimmer
These dragonfly larvae (sub-order Anisoptera) can be distinguished from damselfly larvae (sub-order Zygoptera) by their more robust bodies and an abdomen that ends in five 'spikes' as opposed to three gills. The family Libellulidae is characterized by their spoon-shaped mouthparts.They are distinguished from the other family with this trait, Cordulegastridae, by the small rounded teeth on the edges of their palpal lobes.

Images of the spoon-shaped mouthparts, and the small, rounded teeth.




Oligochaeta

Oligochaeta.jpg



Common name
aquatic earthworms; black worms
Aquatic earthworms lack legs and are characterized by having 20 or more segments. Unlike leeches, they lack a suction disk. We collect members of two or more orders in this class as small numbers of stream sites and they are rarely numerous. They are more common at pond and lake sites.

Image of the 20 or more segments.




Ceratopogonidae

Ceratopogonidae.jpg
Order
Diptera
Family
Ceratopogonidae


Common name
biting midges
Members of this family look like very straight Chironomidae. They are very long and thin with a distinct head capsule and no prolegs. Some in the lab call them 'bamboo sticks' with eyes.

Image of the distinct head capsule.




Hexatoma

Hexatoma.jpg
Order
Diptera
Family
Tipulidae
Genus
Hexatoma


This Tipulidae can be identified by the swollen 7th abdominal segment. The swelling is bulbous and frequently as much as 2X abdominal diameter in preserved specimens.




Dytiscus

Dytiscus.jpg
Order
Coleoptera
Family
Dytiscidae
Genus
Dytiscus


Adult Dytiscidae have streamlined bodies and hind-legs modified for swimming. They are characterized by the division of the first abdominal segment by the hind coxae. Don't let the paired claws and prominent 'tails' of Dytiscus larva tempt you to think 'stonefly'; these tails are far less segmented than Plecoptera tails.The head and jaws are also unlike those of stoneflies.

Images of the hind-legs, first abdominal segment, 'tails', Plecoptera tails, and the head and jaws.



Scirtidae

Scirtidae larvae habitus.jpg
Family
Scirtidae
Genus
Scirtidae


As their common name suggests, marsh beetles are found among vegetation in aquatic habitats. They have a distinctive shape and the photograph should help with identification.