What's Biting My Legs!!?

Getting out of my boat is always a potential YouTube moment. I rarely have genuine grace when I exit my kayak. But on a recent camping trip, I was surprised when a school of tiny teeth attacked my legs when I pulled my boat to shore!

Newsweek called them a Plague of Flesh-Eating Bugs. Hmmm.

It turns out that it's a common occurrence. Who are the culprits? Excirolana Chiltoni or sometimes know as "sand piranhas." (Although their leg-chewing encouraged me to get out of the water – fast, "piranha" is a bit dramatic, like calling a worm a "lawn viper".)

Turning my Zoom Tube monocular backward, let me look closely at the little muncher! These tiny water-line isopods are a relatively common crustacean species on the California coast. As one of Nature's fabulous vacuum cleaners, they are only treacherous if you're a dead fish but they are essential for keeping our shore water clean. Chomp-on, Chiltoni!