Mystery Burrows


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1. Colchester, VT, 10/21/2007 - Well-drained sand in a sunny, disturbed area on a hilltop, along the edge of an ATV trail. The lighting wasn't great here, but you can see part of a meandering burrow that loops below the penny. As far as I could tell, these burrows were all just under the surface--when I followed them with a finger, they just ended (as this one does on the right side of the photo), without going deeper underground.

2. Myakka River State Park, FL, 2/17/2008 - Wet sandy soil along the Myakka River. Extensive, branching burrows just under the surface; no "throw-up" mounds were evident. These seemed to me like a good candidate for mole cricket.

3. Myakka River State Park, FL, 2/17/2008 - Wet sandy/clayey soil along Clay Creek. These were the same diameter as #2, and perhaps the same species, appearing different because of the soil texture. The following three images are all from the same spot.

4. Ocala National Forest, FL, 2/20/2008 - Dry sandy soil, on road through pine forest. I thought this might be a solitary bee burrow, but didn't see anybody around. The mound is 6 cm wide, 1.5 cm high, with a 7 mm wide hole.

5. Ocala National Forest, FL, 2/20/2008 - In same area as #4. I had the impression at the time that this was the same thing as #4, but I'm having second thoughts now. Only one or two mounds had openings; the rest looked like this. This one was 10 cm across, 4 cm high, and when I dug into it I found a 6 mm wide tunnel that went into the ground at an angle. The second photo shows a cluster of similar mounds.

6. Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, CA, 7/29/07 - Tubes that descend from coyote and bobcat scat at beach into sand

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