What is this ?

[humble1]

I have a lawn I just took over. There are about 100 holes spaced close together, no insect in or around any of these holes. Positively not ants.

I can put a truck key or a bic pen down the hole which is very smooth on the sides.

It is cold up here low 30'2 40'2 in the eve. Avg air day 50's

Nothing comes out if disturbed.

Any ideas?

[Kiril]

clams :laugh:

http://morro-bay.com/windy-cove/images/clam-hole.jpg

[Kiril]

Oh well, guess my joke didn't go over well. :(

Here is my guess.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/lawn/note100/note100.html

[pesticide]

there are some ants that do this too

[RigglePLC]

Earthworms most likely. Once the soil is up to a certain temp--and it it rains--they must come up to avoid drowning. They come up all at once. Very noticable if soil is bare.

[lawn king]

Looks like ford keys with remote.

[bj22]

minor bees -spring nesting sites

[AmGreen]

if it were earthworms, I would think there would be castings around the whole. Not saying that they're not, because that hole is very similar in size to an earthworm hole.

I'll go with some type of ground bee, however I'm surprised that there is no activity. Even the bees will normally be around the hole during the day.

[Jason Rose]

minor bees -spring nesting sites

I have a lawn with the same holes. The lady was telling me about the bees that are taking over the backyard, and they are making these holes. She even colleted some and they had to be sent off to the university to ID them. When I was there the other day mowing there wasn't a bee in sight, but there was hundreds of holes covering about a 20 x 20 area.

What does one do to rid a lawn of them? Do they harm people (sting or aggressive?) Do they polinate flowers like normal honey bees? (if so I doubt there's much one can do about them.)


The holes are also similar to that of earthworms/nightcrawlers.


Nevermind, did some research of my own. No pics of the holes in this one, but it describes then to a tee.

Bees in your lawn? It's probably the Tawny Mining Bee

Andrena fulva
Every spring these bees turn up in garden lawns, triggering minor hysteria in the populace. Tawny Mining Bees are harmless. The female is one of our most attractive bees, with lovely foxy red coloured hairs clothing its body. Andrena fulva makes its nest in loose soil, often in lawns. It makes a characteristic cone shaped mound of soil. The cones are created with the soil excavated by the bees as they dig out nest cells underground.

[GravelyGuy]

I had holes like that last year on a property and they were some sort of bee looking thing, much larger than bee though with brown and gold stripes. They would come out of the holes and swarm Magnolia trees. Needless to say, I stayed away from them!

[humble1]

well I got to the bottom of it, it is a cicada killer wasp. It is early for them but thats what it was.

[RigglePLC]

Forget the worms. I am sure you are correct--they are scary-big insects. Cause a minor panic at times.
Here is a link:
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~hollidac/cicadakillerhome.html

[AmGreen]

"Male wasps cannot sting, but they can, at least in theory, give a nasty bite with their large jaws, as can the females, which have even larger jaws."

Then why would this idiot even suggest to "click on this picture to learn how to make a cicada killer wasp perch on your finger".

Thanks for the link riggle - I was going to be too lazy to google it...:)

[Think Green]

Ever sit around the barn as a kid and poke straw hay into the hole and whisper the rhyme--------"Doodlebug"?

[bug-guy]

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/miningbees.html

i agree ground wasp or bees. they are usually found in large numbers but are solitary.
mostly a nuisance and are not agressive. sometimes alittle dust in the holes will cause the insect to get it on the legs coming and going. check the species and read labels first