Larval tubes of silk of Tenia occidentella with adhering sand grains. Pupal case extending from end at lower right.

Coyote scat digested by many Tenia occidentella larvae. Pupal cases are at the end of many tubes leading away from scat. Moths can be seen on the sand. Laboratory environment.

Sand blowout area with high densities of T. occidentella. Bodega Marine Reserve. Both deer and coyote prints are common in this area. 





Owl pellets placed out to sample T. occidentella. Every pellet displayed larval tubes after 4 weeks. 

Pupal case protruding from sand at end of subsurface tube. Bodega Marine Reserve, Sonoma Co. CA.

Pupal cases protruding from sand.




T. occidentella just emerged from pupa at right. Bodega Marine Reserve.




Coyote scat washed clean by winter rains. Only hair of prey mammal remained. No feeding by T. occidentella. 




Coyote scat removed from sand with larval tubes of T. occidentella that extended down into moist sand. Up was upward, and down was downward into sand.





Extending from coyote scat, larval tubes of T. occidentella on surface of sand, perhaps harvesting moisture from fog or very high relative humidity. Bodega Marine Reserve.



Atmospheric relative humidity is frequently very high during the spring and summer on the coast of northern California.  T. occidentella larvae may be able to harvest atmospheric water during periods of high atmospheric relative humidity with tubes that lie on the surface of the sand. Atmospheric relative humidity is associated with frequent fog.




The Bodega Marine reserve just as many areas of coastal northern California has frequent morning fog. In this photo the fog is extending into the dune areas to the upper right.






Larval tube extending out from owl pellet then plunging into the sand.




At work in sand dunes of Bodega Marine Reserve.