A woman discovers countless holes in the sand in her garden and asks the Facebook community for advice - they make an exciting guess.
Kassel – There is a diverse range of flora and fauna to discover in Germany. Recently, walkers made a rare animal find along the side of the road. When a woman checks the garden in the morning, she discovers mysterious holes in the ground.
“I'm just stumped”: discovery in the garden causes a mystery
The woman from northern Germany is hoping for advice from German criminal biologist Mark Benecke and his Facebook community. He shares her concern along with a picture in a post. “When I came into the garden this morning, I found these strange holes in the sand about 3-5 cm deep,” it says.
Numerous, finger-wide holes can be seen in the picture. But what could be the cause of this? “The children refuse to do anything,” emphasizes the mother. She suspects that crickets could be responsible for the strange holes. “I'm just stumped. There's actually a swing hanging in that area, now I'm in doubt as to whether I should hang it up or disturb the animals?" A walker in the forest made a horrifying discovery.
It didn't take long for the Facebook community to react. Some suspect that a green woodpecker may be searching for food behind the mysterious holes in the sand. Others, however, bring antlions into play. “A group of Nordic walkers walked through there,” jokes another user.
“We have it too”: Woman discovers strange holes in the garden
However, a majority of Facebook users agree: they could be sand bees. “There are sand bees in the ground. We also have it in our wildflower meadow,” says one comment. “You can let them breed. Didn’t cause any damage,” assures another. However, the mystery remains elusive.
The holes in the ground may actually indicate sand bees. The plush insects mainly appear from the end of March to the end of May and from the beginning of July to the beginning of September, according to the German Nature Conservation Association (NABU). After mating, females create new nesting sites by digging deep tunnels in sandy or clay soil that can be up to 20 centimeters deep. Each nest usually contains two to three brood cells. With a few tips you can help the wild bee population.
Sand bee nests in your own garden? Nature Conservation Association gives the all-clear
Although they live solitary lives, sand bees form colonies and usually dig their nests close to each other. This may also explain the numerous holes in the woman's garden. However, a Facebook user warns: “Children should keep their shoes on.” According to NABU, as soon as the sand bees hatch, they fly just above the ground to mate. Often they all hatch on one day, first the males and a little later the females. After mating, the male dies and the female begins building new nests. “Everything will be over after four weeks at the latest,” says the Nature Conservation Association.
So if you discover holes in your garden, there is no reason to panic. Sand bees are not aggressive and do not defend their nests, points out Nabu. Although the females have a stinger with which they can defend themselves in extreme emergencies, this cannot penetrate human skin.
Remnants from the past can also appear in your home garden. A boy dug up a 25 million year old shark tooth.