Look down and see the amazing art works at your feet
This fascinates me and I’m always looking down as I stroll along our Provo beaches. You’ll see those intricate balls of sand that form some wondrous patterns in the sand. I finally had to look this up and found out that it is all the works of a small crab……the Sand Bubbler Crab.
Sand bubbles created by the Sand Bubbler Crab
At low tide, the sand bubbler crabs emerge from their holes beneath the sand to gather microscopic food that the tide has brought in. They do this by collecting and sifting the sand, actually checking each grain, and rolling those parts that have nothing useful for them into little balls (sand bubbles) that they toss behind.
A little crab emerges from its burrow in the sand at low tide to search for food.
Sand bubbler crabs live in burrows in the sand, where they remain during high tide. When the tide is out, they come out on to the surface of the sand, and scour the sand for food, forming it into inflated pellets, which cover the sand and form some great designs.
Kinda looks like a palm tree to me!
Next time you are wandering on one of our beautiful beaches, take a look and see some of these intricate designs in the sand. A sand bubbler crab artist will be hiding near by just too shy to come out and take a bow!
Marta