Small, medium and large

My Dad used to call them sand fleas and we would dig them up from the shoreline and use these cute little critters for bait. They are rarely seen since they live under the sand in shallow water near the edge of the waves. Usually the only evidence of them are little V-shapes in the sands as the water recedes.

This morning I noticed a whole colony of them (maybe 20 to 25) above ground running around waiting for the next wave to cover them up. There were all sizes and picking them up reminded me how I used to laugh at the way they tickled my palm as they ran around in my closed hand. Here are a small, medium and large ones.

After these photos a wave came in and woosh they all dug down into the safety of the sand and were gone in an instant. I was so glad to have been able to see them for as long as I did.

The rest of my walk was filled with reminiscence of times on the beach fishing with my Dad and learning about the critters large and small.

After coming home and doing some research I found that when most people refer to sand fleas they are talking about those tiny, biting no-seeums. These little guys are really called Emerita, a genus of oval-shaped crustaceans known as mole crabs, sand fleas, sand crabs, sea pigs or beach hoppers. Their antennae filter plankton and organic debris from the water. They also eat the tentacles of Portuguese man o’war, which are collected by winding the tentacle around the sand crab's leg. Amazing... I never knew that. (See my post Portuguese Man of War from February ‘09.)

So today I learned something new, got to bring back some fond memories, and got to feel a sand flea tickling the palm of my hand. Hurrah!