Aqua Bugs

Is your neighborhood stream safe for swimming and fishing? The beetles, insect larvae, snails, and other aquatic life hiding in your stream can tell you! We’ll show you how.

The Aqua Bugs app helps solve bug ID mysteries with a few simple questions. Start with a bug’s legs, tail, or body shape. Clear directions paired with simple line drawings walk you through each choice. Like magic, the name of your bug will appear along with a gallery of photographs and brief description of its key features.

Got the wrong bug? Hit the Not My Bug button and the app immediately shows you the top five most likely alternatives. You can also choose List All at any time for an alphabetized list of all common macroinvertebrates (insects and crustaceans) found in freshwater streams.

For resources and information on how to turn these bugs into a water quality rating, click About Us for links to data forms and instructions, training videos, an online database, and more.