Please check your docks and equipment for zebra mussels. Click HERE if you have spotted them!

Appearance:

Zebra mussels are small animals with a striped, D-shaped shell composed of two hinged valves joined by a ligament. The shells are typically one-quarter inch to one and one-half inches long, depending on age, with alternating yellow and brownish colored stripes. Adults are typically fingernail-sized. Zebra mussels attach to hard surfaces underwater.

Biology

A single zebra mussel can filter one quart of water per day while feeding primarily on algae. They live underwater, attached to natural and manmade substrates such as rocks, wood, plants, native mussels, pipes, docks, boat lifts, swim rafts, moored watercraft, and other debris. A female can produce 100,000 to 500,000 eggs per year. Fertilized eggs develop into microscopic, free-living larvae, called "veligers," that form shells. After two to three weeks, the veligers settle and attach to a firm surface using tiny fibers called byssal threads. Beds of zebra mussels can reach tens-of-thousands within a single square yard.

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Additional Information HERE