Shrimp 



Mole Crab 



off at a volleyball net — the region 

 that reaches from the damp waterline 

 to the arid dunes. 



It is here that the desert beach 

 community lives. And few species, 

 most of them arthropods, can with- 

 stand the intense heat and light. 



The ghost crab, though perfectly 

 camouflaged, is perhaps the most fa- 

 miliar of these sand-dwelling resi- 

 dents. If nothing else, its front-and- 

 back-entranced hole is a common 

 sight to anyone who's spent time in 

 the sand. Curious children sometimes 

 mistakenly call them snake holes, 

 Wood says. 



With a sideways scurry on spin- 

 dly, jointed legs, the ghost crab pre- 

 fers to leave its burrow under the 

 cover of darkness. But nature some- 

 times forces it to make light, feathery 

 tracks across the sand during the day 

 to wet its gills. It also steps out rou- 

 tinely for a detritus meal left by the 

 last high tide or to sample beach fleas, 

 mole crabs, coquina clams or sea 

 turtle hatchlings. 



The plant and animal debris that 

 ghost crabs find so tasty arrives spe- 



cial delivery from the ocean on its two 

 daily high tides. One of the richest 

 food sources in the marine environ- 

 ment, this debris provides nourishment 

 and protection for many creatures that 

 live here. 



The sand hopper scavenges these 

 stranded remains and sometimes lives 

 under them or in a burrow nearby. This 

 1/8- to 1-inch crustacean looks like a 

 cross between a shrimp and a flea, and 

 it can be seen hopping around the 

 strand line when its hiding place is dis- 

 turbed. Some can also deliver an itch- 

 ing bite. 



At the dune line you can find the 

 raised tunnel of the mole cricket, an 

 insect that resembles its landlubbing 

 namesake — the cricket. A vegetarian, 

 this beach creature favors young roots 

 and the seedlings of dune plants that it 

 burrows under in the daytime. 



The digger wasp also burrows un- 

 der the scorching surface of the upper 

 beach to the cooler sands where it 

 keeps its young. The wasp will cover 

 the burrow to protect the offspring 

 from predators and parasites. It preys 

 on flying insects, pulling them into the 



nest to nourish its larvae. 



It shares these sands with the vel- 

 vet ant, which is actually a fiery red 

 wingless wasp with a painful sting. Its 

 body is furred for insulation. The fe- 

 male lays her eggs in the nest of the 

 digger wasp, where the hatchlings 

 feed on the wasp's larvae. 



Real ants are the spoils of the ant 

 lion, a ticklike insect with grasping 

 jaws that lies in wait for its prey at the 

 bottom of a sandy funnel. When a 

 hapless ant spills into the funnel, 2 

 inches wide by 2 inches deep, it can- 

 not gain footing to climb out. The 

 sandy-colored, 1/4-inch ant lion then 

 has its next meal within reach. 



The earwig, a slender, elongated 

 insect with prominent pincers, gets its 

 unusual name from an old tale that it 

 crawls into the ears of sleeping chil- 

 dren and sews them up. The 1/2- to 

 3/4-inch insect does prefer to step out 

 at night, when it scavenges on beach 

 and dune refuse or eats the larvae of 

 other insects. It seeks shelter under the 

 beach debris by day. 



The beach wrack that sustains 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 5 



