Everyone who has been to a beach before would have seen this sight: small tiny balls of sand, sometimes forming a pretty formation.
Pretty formations of sand balls in the sand.
Ever wondered what they are?
The Crustacean Truth:
I always knew the pretty little balls were made by crabs.
And although I didn't know how, I assumed (which is a bad thing to do) that since the balls were always found around the crabholes, perhaps the crabs dug their holes by forming little balls deeper and deeper until there was a hole.
Thankfully, my assumption was correct on that one.
However, surely there had to be another explanation: crabs are tiny creatures, and one definately can't expect them to "throw" the ball of sand out of its burrow THAT FAR (it's at least half a foot)!
The Other Truth:
You see, crabs feed off microscopic material in between the grains of sand.
So after feeding off the stuff in the sand, the crab will roll it up into a ball and toss it over his shoulder. (I'm not sure they have shoulders though.) Thus forming those little balls of sand you see.
The Moral of the Discovery:
So, the next time you're stranded on a white sandy beach, don't suck the sand that have been rolled into balls, the crabs have got all the nutrition out already!
