Recently, we went on a tracking "expedition" starting at the west end of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, San Diego, CA. Right under an overpass, we found numerous tracks. The top two photos are perhaps of darkling beetles. The middle two show the trail of an earthworm. We estimated one trail to be about seven feet in length. Why would an earthworm cut across a dirt trail? It definitely leaves a distinctive mark, but I would not have imagined this creature was the creator.
Lastly, the trail of a snail! To get this photo, I had to stand in the middle of the road to protect the animal from being run over by the numerous trail bikers cruising along, oblivious to the life forms crushed beneath their wheels. After I moved a short distance down the trail from the worm, it was immediately hit and left writhing on the ground. At least, it is immortalized here on this page.
NB: The following comment was made on FB regarding my guess that the trail in the top two photos was made by a beetle. They could also be tracks of a cricket according to K. C. "Crickets tend to have the middle feet sticking out perpendicular to the trail, rather than at an angle like beetles. That's why I think it's a cricket rather than a beetle."
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