Sand-hopper

Sand-hopper (Talitrus locusta), a small crustacean in the order Amphipoda, which so abounds on the sandy seashores of Britain that the whole surface of the sand often seems to be alive with the multitudes which, leaping up for a few inches into the air, look like swarms of dancing flies. This activity is not, however, displayed at all times; but if a mass of seaweed left by the retiring tide be turned over, countless sand-hoppers may be seen to leap away, or they may be found by digging in the sand, in which they burrow. The animal leaps by bending the body together, and throwing it open with a sudden jerk. It feeds on almost any vegetable or animal substance, particularly on what is already dead and beginning to decay. It is itself eaten by crabs, beetles, and by many shore-birds. To some other species of Talitrus and to some species of Orchestia the name sand-hopper is equally applicable, but T. locusta is commonest.