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Spiny Water Flea in the Great Lakes Region Overview | General Resources | Related Resources Select a species: Crustaceans: Cercopagis pengoi | Rusty Crayfish | Spiny Water Flea Fish: Common Carp | Goby | Ruffe | Sea Lamprey | White Perch Mollusks: Zebra Mussel Plants: Curly-leaf Pondweed | Eurasian Watermilfoil | Flowering Rush | Purple Loosestrife [Invasive species home page] 
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Overview 
The spiny water flea (Bythotrephes cederstroemi), or "B.C.," is not an insect at all, but a tiny (less than half an inch long) crustacean with a long, sharp, barbed tail spine. A native of Great Britain and northern Europe east to the Caspian Sea, the animal was first found in Lake Huron in 1984--probably imported in the ballast water of a trans-oceanic freighter. Since then, populations have exploded and the animal can now be found throughout the Great Lakes and in some inland lakes.
No one is really sure what effect spiny water fleas will have on the ecosystems of the Great Lakes region. But resource managers are worried, because the animals may compete directly with young perch and other small fish for food, such as "Daphnia" zooplankton.
Spiny water fleas also reproduce rapidly. During warm summer conditions each female can produce up to 10 offspring every two weeks. As temperatures drop in the fall, eggs are produced that can lie dormant all winter. High numbers would not pose a problem if spiny water fleas were heavily consumed by predators. But its sharp spine makes it extremely hard for small fish to eat, leaving only some large fish to feed on them. As a result, spiny water flea populations remain high while populations of plankton, which they eat, have declined. Likely means of spread: Spiny water flea eggs and adults may wind up unseen in bilge water, bait buckets, and livewells. Also, fishing lines and downriggers will often be coated with both eggs and adults. Photo credits: Single Bythotrephes specimen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Spiny Water Flea on downrigger cable; Jeff Gunderson, Minnesota Sea Grant. References: A Field Guide to Aquatic Exotic Plants and Animals, University of Minnesota Sea Grant Program
General Resources Factsheet: Bythotrephes cederstroemi (PDF) Ohio Sea Grant College Program Spiny Tailed Bythotrephes Minnesota Sea Grant Program The Spiny Water Flea's life history and effects on the Great Lakes. Spiny Water Flea (Bythotrephes cederstroemi) Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site (SGNIS) Includes scientifically reviewed articles as well as images from Sea Grant researchers.
Related Resources GLIN: Agencies and Organizations, Fauna GLIN: Fish and Fisheries in the Great Lakes Region
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