I am not an entomologist. I am not even the kind of fly fisher who is proficient with insect taxonomy at the species level. But I do know a few things about bugs. And I am aware that they can captivate an 8 year old in a way that very few digital things can.
Over the past fifteen years or so, I’ve had a handful of opportunities to teach “bug class” to kids. At private schools, summer camps, and homeschool co-ops I’ve introduced students to stoneflies, aquatic snails, and (to the very brave) hellgrammites. Along with encountering some alien-looking critters that live under the rocks of the local stream, kids and teachers learn a few things about water quality and what trout eat.
Something like this might be a possibility for you. You may be an educator, a volunteer, or even a parent looking for a fun thing to do with your kids. With a few things that you probably have around your house, and with the knowledge that you probably already possess from “matching the hatch,” you too can introduce someone to the fascinating world of macroinvertebrates.
Here are five quick and easy tips on sharing the aquatic insects you know and love with young people:
Equipment
You’ll do fine with a large tupperware and ice cube trays. The bugs are stored in the bin and then sorted/observed in the opaque trays. Plastic tweezers and magnification tools are nice, but not necessary. Of course, you’ll need to catch the bugs. Landing net seines are online (and probably at your local fly shop).
Collection
Just go where you fish. Pick up a rock and see what is crawling on it. Pick off those bugs and put them in a tupperware with a few inches of water. You’ll get a lot of samples this way, but you’ll get even more if you hold the seine in the water downstream and against the bottom; then twist your feet to dislodge small rocks and disturb the sediment. All sorts of things will flow into your net. Pick through debris to find everything from midge larvae to crayfish.
Presentation
This is the easiest part. The bugs present themselves. With younger kids, simply handling the bugs and telling them their names is great. Getting little ones to verbalize what they observe or what the bugs remind them of is excellent. With older children there are a lot of options. Bugs can be sorted into trays by genus or species. Using the resources below, inferences about water quality can be made.
Resources
Depending on your audience, there are many different things you can incorporate. The simplest is images of the adult stages of the insects you have. There are also charts outlining the indicator value of different species. Certainly bring along your fly box and explain how anglers look at real bugs in the water and try to imitate them with fur and feathers.
Outcomes
First of all, don’t underestimate joy and wonder. Kids’ experiences with creation are valuable simply because they are experiences. Beyond that, there is a clear environmental stewardship message. Macroinvertebrates are some of the first to go when pollutants and invasives enter a watershed. Implicit in that is the interconnectedness of organisms in an ecosystem and the value of even the tiniest members.
If you can get the bugs, you can do this. You’ll have a blast doing it, too. And remember: they’re more scared of hellgrammites than you are of them.