Mussel mamas find charming ways to keep species alive

Female freshwater mussels hold their babies in a “baby package,” called a conglutinate, until time for the babies to hitch a ride upstream. Mama mussels disguise their baby packages to look like fish food to encourage fish to take a bite, allowing their young to attach to the fish, dispersing mussels throughout water systems. The federally protected triangular kidneyshell mussel produces a baby package that looks much like a black fly larvae. USFWS photo by Paul Hartfield