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Black Mystery Mass On Maine Beach Mystifies Locals & Stains Visitors' Feet

EnolaGaia

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This mass turned out to be comprised of millions of insect carcasses, but investigation into exactly what sort of insects and how this phenomenon occurred are still ongoing.
Mysterious black substance on Wells Beach turns out to be millions of dead bugs

The black substance was staining the feet of people at the beach, prompting one local resident to alert state officials.

Ed Smith has walked Wells Beach for years but has never seen anything like it: A mysterious black substance that settles on the sand near the shoreline and stains the feet of anyone who ventures too close.

He first noticed it Sunday night. When he went back out Monday, it was there again. ...

“I sat on the edge of my tub with blue Dawn (dishwashing soap) and a scrub pad, and I still couldn’t remove the stain from my feet,” Smith said.

It took a few inquiries to local and state officials, and some help from a retired scientist who lives nearby, but Smith got his answer Tuesday. It only raised more questions. ...

According to Steve Dickson, a marine geologist with Maine Geological Survey, the black substance was the collective carcasses of dead insects. Millions of them. ...

“This is the first time I’ve seen or heard of this in my 35 years,” Dickson said. ...

Dickson said he’s still working with entomologists on figuring out what the bugs are, where they came from – and why – but he doesn’t expect it to be a recurring phenomenon. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06...-beach-turns-out-to-be-millions-of-dead-bugs/
 
Here are two photos of the stains this insect debris left on people's feet.

Maine-Staine-1.jpg
MaineStaine-2.jpg
 
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