If you look closely at bare twigs and stems in the winter, you may come across a hard papier-mâché-like blob approximately an inch across. This is a praying mantis ootheca, a type of egg mass laid by a variety of species, including mollusks and cockroaches, as well as mantises. The word “ootheca” is a combination of the Greek words “oon” meaning egg, and “theca” meaning cover or container. The ootheca material is produced from a pair of accessory reproductive glands…
On a recent walk along Scusset Beach along Cape Cod Bay, the wrack line was dotted with four-pronged, dark-brown, leathery pouches. These pouches, sometimes called “mermaid’s purses”, “devil’s purses” or “sailor’s purses” are actually skate egg cases. Although many species of skate and shark lay similar egg cases, based on the size, shape and location where they were found, these dried black leathery cases are likely from the Little Skate (Leucoraja erinacea). Little Skates can be found from Nova Scotia…
There are two common species of whelk in this area: the Channeled Whelk (Busycon canaliculatum) and the Knobbed Whelk (Busycon carica). They represent our largest beach snails, and their shells can grow to be 7 to 9 inches long. As living snails, or as empty shells on the beach, they are fairly easy to distinguish, and are appropriately named. The Channeled Whelk has a groove, or channel, running along the spiraled portion of its shell, while the Knobbed whelk has…