GIL .. BIOSCI/Bionet News .. Biosequences .. Software .. FTP

Thanks to everyone who has responded.  There is complete consensus that #3 is Diopatra cuprea.  Maldanidae represents the third order that has been suggested for #2.  Yes, I believe they did break easily, but for my purposes perhaps it's best that I simply indicate that similar tubes could be the product of many different polychaetes, and leave it at that. #1 has been almost universally ignored, except for one person who referred me to a species that I investigated and discovered its tubes are much too small, and another who assured me they would have to be made by insects if they are in fresh water.  If anyone is familiar with Tubifex worms and can provide or direct me to a good description of their tubes (size and composition), that would be very helpful.  I'm not thinking that's what these are, but I would still like to include a description in the text.  These are fairly near my house, unlike the others, so I will see if I can collect a sample and find an aquatic invert specialist who can identify them.  It appears that midge or possibly crane fly larvae are the best explanation for these, but I have yet to find a description with sufficient detail to confirm this. I didn't expect #4 would get much of a response, but figured it was worth a shot.  I was sent a photo of a somewhat similar tunnel made by Australian termites, but I've never heard of any North American species that does something quite like this. Cheers, Charley <div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 7:11 PM, Sarah A Woodin <<a href="mailto:woodin@biol.sc.edu">woodin@biol.sc.edu</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> my guess given the tube and the region that number 2 are maldanid tubes. Did they break easily?  If so, even more likely to be maldanids.  In the intertidal number 3 is most likely to be Diopatra cuprea. Sarah Ann Woodin Carolina Distinguished Professor Department of Biological Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 office: 803-777-4141 lab: 803-777-4254 fax: 803-777-4002<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"> On Sat, 29 Nov 2008, Charley Eiseman wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Hello all, I am working on a field guide to the 'tracks and signs' of North American invertebrates.  The bulk of it will be devoted to insects and spiders, but there will be scattered references to annelids, and I'm hoping some of you can help me make the coverage as complete and accurate as possible. One category of 'signs' is the tubes made by certain freshwater and marine worms.  I am interested in information on which taxa make these, and how exactly they go about constructing them.  I have collected photos of a few such tubes here: <a href="http://charleyeiseman.com/annelid.html" target="_blank">http://charleyeiseman.com/annelid.html</a> and I'm hoping someone can tell me what they are (or might be).  There is also a question about earthworm burrows at the bottom of that page. The book will include photos of the egg cases of *Eisenia foetida* and an unidentified leech.  If anyone can provide information on variations in size, structure, and appearance among the egg cases of North American annelids, that would be very helpful. I will also be discussing earthworm castings and the midden piles of *Lumbricus terrestris* (I have photos of both), as well as the effects on forest soils of introduced earthworms in general.  I live in New England and I'm unclear on the importance of exotic earthworms south of the glaciated region, so comments on that would be helpful. I think that essentially covers the annelid signs I'm aware of at this point.  I would welcome any suggestions of other phenomena to consider, or contributions of any photographs that would augment the ones I've already mentioned. Thanks, Charley Eiseman <a href="mailto:ceiseman@gmail.com" target="_blank">ceiseman@gmail.com</a> </blockquote> </div></div></blockquote></div>

Send comments to us at archive@iubio.bio.indiana.edu