Steve Wertz wrote:
What insect makes those perfectly shaped, inverted cone-shaped
impressions in the dirt? I was watching them at work this weekend
- about 6 all with a square foot, each one spinning around under
the dirt kicking up soil into a perfectly smooth funnel shape.

I couldn't see what they under that dirt, but my guess is that
small ants or other insects walk across the funnel and make the
dirt fall into the funnel, allowing the unknown insect at the
bottom to detect where the prey is, and pounce at it.

I'd like to look them up and get their story, but I don't know
what they are. Anyone?

-sw
That's something that I called a doodle bug when I was a kid. Don't
know the real name of the bug. Take a broom straw and when the cone is
being made, insert the straw, twisting it slightly into the bottom of
the cone. If you doodle around long enough, the bug will latch onto the
straw and you can ease him to the surface and get a look at him.

--
Gary Brady
Austin, TX