Field Notes: Beach Hoppers! (Patreon)

That's Deep Look producer Mike Seely stretched out on the sand at Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove, CA. He's working on a new episode about beach hoppers: tiny crustaceans that emerge at night to eat decaying seaweed and other organic matter that's washed up on shore.

He and Josh Cassidy, Deep Look's lead producer and cinematographer, started filming the beach hoppers on a beautiful sunny afternoon this past December. 

They filmed through sunset and into the early night, when the hoppers began to come out. The predominant beach hopper species you'll find at Asilomar is Megalorchestia pugettensis.

Mike and Josh also filmed at Drake's Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore. Just after sunset, the beach hoppers came out in droves! The predominant species you'll find here is the Long-Horned beach hopper (Megalorchestia californiana), which are the stars of this upcoming episode.

Mike's holding one of the long-horned beach hoppers, aka California beach hoppers, (Megalorchestia californiana) that he filmed at Drake's Beach.

This episode premieres Tuesday, February 9, but Patreon supporters will get a sneak peek this Friday!