QuestionI'm in central NC, and I've got some small coffee-cup dirt mounds about 1.5" tall scattered over my yard. No signs of underground tracks, so I'm sure it's not moles, etc. I scraped away the dirt and found a slightly smaller than dime-sized hole. I'm wondering it it could be those cicada wasps since I saw one burrowing down in the backyard about a month ago.
I just don't know what it could be, but I've pressed down the dirt mounds and they keep re-appearing every day. Anyone have a clue?? I need to get something down before they eat every bit of my new grass seedlings.
Answer I had a similar question earlier and because I cannot claim that the answer is mine, I will attempt to quote the whole Q&A. Let me know if it helps. TIA.
PS. The exchange might appear to be long but you will find it quite entertaining.
Questioner: Kelly
Category: Lawns
Private: No
Subject: Mystifying tiny holes! Sanity at stake!
Question:
Critter in the hole!QUESTION: I have some mysterious holes in my back yard and can not, for the life of me, figure out what is "in" them or causing them. I'm sure I look like a fruit cake to my neighbors, if they can see my efforts on trying to identify what is causing the holes, from their upstairs window.
Here's the info that I have gathered through my forensic studies of the holes... and I am being sarcastic, there, LOL.
The holes are tiny... they are a quarter of an inch at the largest, and about an eight of an inch at the smallest. The depth of the holes appears to be no deeper than 1 inch, if that. There are no mounds... there are no pellets on the outside of the holes. There are probably 30 or more holes. The holes are in a part of my yard that doesn't have grass, maybe 3 square feet in size... however, there are a few of these holes in the grassy parts of the yard where the grass is thinner that I can see. The area of dirt where the holes are directly touches the foundation of my home, and the concrete of the back patio. (I don't know if that's important, so I'm throwing it it.)
These are the actions I have taken to try and identify what could be causing the holes or identifying what might be inside of the holes:
I have used my son's sandbox shovel (and managed to break it, too) to dig up a hole and the surrounding dirt. I then sifted through the dirt looking for any signs of movement or life. I bet I've dug up twenty of these littel holes! (My insanity is building at this point.) In my dirt sifting I have found what apears to be the "skin" or "shedding" of a very small bug... less than an 1/8 of an inch. This skin is white. This lead me to believe that the holes were caused by a larvae of some sort hatching and then abandoning ship... but I was wrong because of the NEXT thing I discovered about the holes.
Moving right along... if I cover the holes with dirt (not piling thick piles of dirt but just using my shoe to push dirt over them) they re-appear within half an hour. However, I cannot catch these little boogers in action. Whatever they are... they are sneaky... and fast! This let me know that the holes are not vacant, as an empty house doesn't open it's own doors.
Also... I have FINALLY caught a glimpse of the creature causing my maniacal obsession with discovering what is in or causing the holes. WHATEVER it is will appear at the top of the hole... it *appears* to be greyish/black in color and can fill the entire opening of the hole, so I would say at least a quarter of an inch in size. If I so much as exhale, the creature dashes back down into the hole convincing me that I am now hallucinating. I then dig as fast as I can because I *know* something is in the hole and still turn up empty handed. It's like playing "Whack A Mole!" As soon as I spot them, they dash down! They remind me of those crabs on the beach that can dart in a hole so quickly that you would think you were seeing things. At this point, I am beginning to *think* I AM seeing things.
I live in the North East Texas Region. Hmmm... what else? Oh, the dirt is not loose... like dirt that would blow in the wind or dirt that an ant lion would make it's cool tornado home in... it has some moisture to it but is not in a "wet" area. That is all of the information I can think of that could possibly help in identifying the holes that are tormenting me. The holes themselves are not bothering me, but no knowing what is causing them or in them is making me NUTS!
I have googled, asked jeeves, and searched the internet for days without luck. Any info, tips, clues, or hints would be SO greatly appreciated!
Many thanks!
Kelly (certain to be committed to an asylum if I don't discover what is in or causing these holes!)
ANSWER: "I have googled, asked jeeves, and searched the internet for days without luck."
I am honored indeed that you should ask 'little me'; but this does not put any pressure on me to come up with a credible answer. Not at all! Think nothing of it!
But seriously; your CSI efforts have been painstaking indeed and you deserve to make a determination of this issue. I have to go with antlion. The only 'fly in the ointment' is that the slope of the sides of the trap does not appear to be loose enough. "Wikipedia" alludes to the "angle of repose" which is determined mainly to the physical properties of the soil. I learnt this from 'ditch digging 101'. But if the soil condition is firmer (e.g. a concrete slope) then the angle can be steeper. In the case of a concrete slope the angle can get so steep that it is difficult to maintain foothold (see climbing walls 101). We (I have bought into this challenge) are dealing with small (microscopic?) measurements here. Our antlions have engineered the slope of their traps to the point that prey accidentally rushing in where others will not even tread, slide uncontrollably into the waiting jaws of certain death. If you buy into this 'theory' then all of your other astute observations fall into place and we can put QED to this one.
But... I am reminded of the saying, "One of the tragedies of this life is the murder of a beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts".
If you think that I enjoyed this, you are so right. Thanks!!!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hello, Mr. Persaud! My first question I asked to you was only the tip of the iceberg in the efforts I went through to discover what was in/causing the mysterious holes in my back yard! When I contacted you, I also contacted an entomologist at All Experts, as well. Together, he and I finally figured out what was the culprit! I copied and pasted the notes we shared back and forth, so that you, too, can see what we discovered if you are interested! It was a FUN RIDE, I must admit... and I am NOT a "bug" person!
ANSWER: Hi kelly
Without seeing these my educated guess is that these are digger wasps. They dig a hole and then go and find a bug and sting it. Then they put it in the hole and lay an egg with it. The maggot hatches eats the bug pupates and leaves as an adult. This would explain the skin you found in a hole.(the remains of the prey) It looks like you filled a hole while the wasp was looking for a bug so she dug it out again. This is the only explanation I have at the moment. Goggle "digger wasps or Sphex and read about the wasps. Meanwhile get a chair and some iced tea and sit in the yard and see watch what events take place.
Let me know
walter
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I was SO upset after getting your email yesterday evening and not being able to reply right away because I had asked your 5th and final question for the day! ha ha
Now... on to my holes...
I googled digger wasps and "Sphex" and am convinced (after much studying of the subject and my holes) that this is not what I have. The reasons I have eliminated the digger wasp as a possibility are:
1.)I have sat and watched the holes and nothing comes in or out with the exception of dirt. If I cover the holes the habitant will eventually fling it out.
2.) After observing (for almost an entire day) there is no activity of digger wasps flying or buzzing about.
3.) I have also discovered that the holes are not shallow as I previously believed. Evidently, I was "cutting the holes off" with my shovel, when it in fact continued. I realized this after sitting in wait with my shovel at a hole to see if one of my mystery critters would surface. When it did, I shoveled up a wedge of dirt that was at least 5 inches deep. I sifted through my dirt "knowing" I had finally caught one of these boogers, only to find nothing. Twenty minutes later... where I had left a nice hole from "digging up a hole" a new hole appeared. I don't know if that makes sense or not. Hmm.. how can I rephrase that? he he I left a big hole from my shovel after digging up a bug hole... twenty or so minutes later the "shovel hole" had a new "bug hole" that was in the same spot... only now it was 5 inches lower into the earth. This lead me to discover the next fact about the holes...
4.) The holes are deep... MUCH deeper than I initially thought. My husband stuck a "twistie tie" down in one and never felt resistance. I did the same with a strong weed stem. I was able to stick the straw down in the hole without meeting resistance until I ran out of straw... a distance of at least 5 inches.
My husband spent several days giggling at me as I was out digging and sifting and gaurding my holes. His giggling has now turned... he's as curious as I am. I found him sitting outside, Indian Style, watching and waiting for the mysterious critters! They come to the surface and are VERY skittish. If you move... BOOM... down they go... BUT... they will resurface in a matter of minutes. They do not exit the hole, however. I am happy to have another lunatic on "my team" trying to discover what these creatures could be! ha ha!
My husband thinks they are spiders. I am not convinced. I've googled "burrowing spiders" and have only seen a few that do this and they are much larger than what we are witnessing, and/or are native to Austraila (mouse spider). Also, there is no trap door.
My latest "bright idea" to see how deep the tunnels are is to get some plaster of paris and mix it up and pour it down into a hole. Can you tell this has become an obsession? A madenning obsession, at that!
I have a picture of one of my creatures at the surface of the hole. I have cropped and magnified the picture so keep in mind that what you are seeing in the photograph is less than a 1/4 of an inch in diameter.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Maniac in waiting,
Kelly
Hi Kelly
Now you have me going crazy over these critters. What is the blue color in the photo. And It almost looks like two eyes staring at us. I am at a loss here . Our only hope is to capture one of these dead or alive. I am convinced they are insects of some type. I do not know of any spiders that do this. Pour something into one of the holes to kill one and at least we will have a corpse to examine
walter
QUESTION: Hi, Walter!
The blue is as puzzling to me as it is to you. When I look at the critters with the naked eye, I do not see any blue and was surprised to see that in the picture.
My insanity is ever growing, but I am having fun while going crazy. My latest efforts include:
Mixing a plaster of paris concoction and pouring it down into a hole to have a cast mold of the hole and to see how deep it was. This effort was a let down, as there was no way for the air to escape as I was filling the holes and my plaster could only go down about an inch and a half before not allowing any more in. That was a bummer, I thought I was on to something... and also hoping I might "catch" a critter at the end of the mold. (I guess it's safe to let you know just how nuts I am at this point... I even used a syringe used for dispensing medicine to small children to try and force the plaster in the hole, with the results being the same if I just poured the plaster in the hole.)
The latest thing I have done is stuck a five inch blade of grass down in one of the holes... only to watch it rise out like magic. At this point I am convinced that I am on Candid Camera and keep looking over my shoulder for a hiding film crew.
I DID stumble on to a possible culprit through my extensive "googling." I'm thinking a Tiger Beetle larva may be a possibility, but I am not convinced, just yet, due to the fact that people have discussed "catching" them and that is simply impossible in my opinion! ha ha However, the way it comes to the surface (as a larva) and waits for prey seems to make sense because my critters come to the surface... BUT... the fact that they snatch the prey back into the hole contradicts my thinking that this could be my critter because when I put a blade of grass, or straw... or whatever I can reach near the entrance of the hole (with no sudden movements... this is an art, I tell you) it quickly withdraws, and will not come to the surface while that obect remains in place.
You mentioned pouring something into one of the holes to try and kill of the critters... what would you recommend?
I am two seconds away from my next crazy task... the shop-vac! I'll suck those boogers out!
Thanks for your help and time! I've certainly dusted the cobwebs off of this "stay at home mommy" brain of mine! I've enjoyed learning about various critters... digger wasps, mouse spiders, wolf spiders, salamanders, lizards... all in an effort to identify this bug. I suppose I am just nosey by nature... many of my friends are enjoying laughing at me as I start to twitch a little and continue to obsess over these holes!
Can't wait to hear what you might think, now! ha ha
Slightly insane,
Kelly
Answer Hi Kelly; I think you may have stumbled on something with info about tiger beetles. Go to this site.
insects,tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg129.html
This describes the situation very well. The mystery is why there eare so many in your yard. But one must be captured to confirm what they are. Try pouring a little bleach into a hale and then dig it out. Have you tried putting other bugs near the hole. Do not give up. When victory is complete you can scoff at the friends that are laughing at you.
If you get back to me use my email address () The past exchanges have become cumbersome in that everything is being repeated
walter
Hi, Walter!
I am pleased to announce that I have FINALLY caught one of my little creatures! As you know, I've been at this for over a week... each day coming up with some new brilliant idea to capture and figure out what was in my mysterious holes!
After digging, shoveling, standing in wait, baiting, pouring plaster of paris, and many other crazy attempts I FINALLY succeeded when pulling out the shop-vac! I sucked and sucked on a few holes with the vac with no luck, and decided to try on one last hole! My efforts were rewarded with a grand prize! he he
The creature is in fact a tiger beetle larva. It was still alive when I retrieved it from the canister, but the trauma of being sucked from it's home at gale force winds eventually caused the critter's demise. I was prepared to take a picture of my reward but the little booger has now shriveled up and turned into a very unimpressive curl of bug.
The larva itself was about an inch in length... which is amazing to me considering how quickly it could dart down into it's hole and how deeply it could go in nano seconds.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my quest and am quite disappointed that it has now come to an end. Thank you for your insight and interest in my adventure. I suppose I can now file this away in my brain as "CASE CLOSED."
I thought that I would also mention that I have seen beetles on my back patio at night... mine do not look like the pictures of "tiger beetles" that I have seen... but are black, some have a shimmer of metallic green... which brings me to one last and final question (you didn't think it was REALLY over, did you, ha ha)! My question is... is "tiger beetle" a name similar to "wasp?" Meaning are there several types of tiger beetles like there are wasps, i.e. red wasp, digger wasp, etc.? Just curious... this is one that I won't go crazy over!
Again, I thank you for your time and comments! It's been a great ride!
Finally able to rest,
Kelly
------from walter------
At last the hunt is over but there are a lot of other bug mysteries out there so start looking.
Wasp and tiger beetle are common names. The tiger beetle belongs to the Family Carabidae (ground beetles) There are over 1000 species. You can see where they got the name tiger from how quick they are.
Answer: That is one enlightening and entertaining exchange. I will pursue the many leads for my own edification.
Thanks again.
