Holes dug in the ground
Posted by Michelle Hager on April 4, 2007
Q: I live in Ohio in the country. It is spring and my front yard stays very wet, we also have a pond. Something is digging holes in my yard that are about 1"-2" in diameter. The wet mud is layered on top on the hole that looks like a small volcano. Could this be a frog that is burrowing these holes?
Habitat: field/meadow
State: Ohio
Habitat: field/meadow
A: Michelle, I'm a southern Ohio native and I've experience with this phenomenon. What you're seeing are the chimneys (or turrets) of the terrestrial crayfish. Crayfish are aquatic, but a few species live in burrows seemingly far from water. Actually, they live in the water in low-lying areas that maintain damp soils and shallow subsurface water levels.
Large amounts of soil may be brought to the surface as the crayfish tunnel in the wet soils.
Crayfish consume both plant and animal food, living or dead. They eat live and decaying plants and animals. They are also eaten by birds, reptiles, mammals and other crayfish so they are important to an ecosystem on several levels
Hence, crayfish are involved in a great deal of nutrient transfer in your backyard ecosystem. Jim Berry
Jim Berry ( April 9, 2007)