# So what are these weird black masses (erroneously called "tick nests") on the forest floor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038 "2019-06-04T22:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/1 "2019-06-04T22:20:01Z")
A few years ago [Snopes addressed](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tick-eggs-photograph/) a Facebook viral “warning” about supposed “tick nests.” the accompanying photo showed a black glob of goo that looked like caviar, or maybe blackberry jam. Snopes thought it might be regurgitated amphibian ovaries. I like Snopes but on this one, they’re totally off the mark. The reason I know this is because whatever this shit is it has shown up in the playground of the daycare my wife works at: huge (like, dinner plate sized) gobs of this crap in the playground, and it appears to be spreading. The playground is covered in wood chips, so whatever it is likes wet wood. My wife tried using a shovel to scoop some into a trash can but couldn’t, she said the smell was overpowering. It had an earthy, fungal / mildew smell to it. The center director advised staff to go out and douse it with bleach water after the center closes for the day. My Google-Fu is failing me. So, what is this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/2 "2019-06-04T22:26:34Z")
[Nostoc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostoc)? ETA: looking at the Snopes photo, probably not. Can you get a good photo of the stuff on the playground? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/3 "2019-06-04T22:26:50Z")
Frog-spawn. Stress can cause frogs to lay eggs in unlikely places. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_Burly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frank_burly/32/24_2.png) [@Frank\_Burly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_Burly)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/4 "2019-06-05T00:17:44Z")
What makes you think Snopes is off the mark? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/5 "2019-06-05T00:38:14Z")
I don’t think it’s frog spawn, since the blobs are all black, rather than transparent with black tadpoles growing inside. It kind of looks like [caviar](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0797/4763/products/beluga-opened_grande.jpg?v=1523798080). Could it be fish eggs? ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/6 "2019-06-05T00:51:28Z")
> [@Frank\_Burly](#): > > What makes you think Snopes is off the mark? Because I’ve seen frog eggs and they don’t look like this. Frog eggs are almost clear with a small black speck inside. Also, they’re always laid in water as far as I know. Certainly not laid by the cubic foot in playground wood chips. If, as snopes suggest, it was some internal organs that had been upchucked by some predator I suspect there would a pile of dead frog bits, not just the eggs (or ovaries, as Snopes suggests). Additionally, frogs aren’t particularly numerous around here. These piles are _huge_. I’ll have my wife take pics and I’ll try to post them later. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/7 "2019-06-05T00:53:00Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Could it be fish eggs? The closest source of water that would have fish (and thus fish egss) is probably 2 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/8 "2019-06-05T01:22:28Z")
Lessee if this works… [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48714327192_f75f8a4a03_z.jpg "Lancia SDMB") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/181841870@N04/) Im on my phone so hopefully I did this right. These are pics of some smaller clusters. My wife said that when they poured bleach water on them they emitted something akin to smoke: some fine particulate matter that became airborne. Additionally, underneath the black the stuff is brown. ---
**Author:** ![l0k1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@l0k1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/l0k1)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/9 "2019-06-05T01:32:03Z")
If it’s in the woodchips, it’s probably some sort of mold or fungus. Black wood fungus, shotgun fungus, etc. Does it look like it was dropped on top of the mulch, or like it grew from underneath? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/10 "2019-06-05T01:35:09Z")
Are you sure it’s not animal poo? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/11 "2019-06-05T01:37:12Z")
I’d bet it’s some type of slime mold. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/12 "2019-06-05T01:42:32Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I’d bet it’s some type of slime mold. [Here’s](https://live.staticflickr.com/3096/2829863010_f7069aeae0_z.jpg) a picture of black slime mold. Looks a lot like caviar. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/13 "2019-06-05T03:23:33Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > [Here’s](https://live.staticflickr.com/3096/2829863010_f7069aeae0_z.jpg) a picture of black slime mold. Looks a lot like caviar. I think you nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/14 "2019-06-05T04:51:14Z")
It could be the mould, but the moment I saw the Snopes photo, my first though was [deer scat](https://www.google.com/search?q=deer+scat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwovG0xNHiAhUkWN8KHQrLDpIQ_AUIECgB&biw=2133&bih=1040). The exact appearance depends on the species, the diet, and the current health of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/15 "2019-06-05T13:01:49Z")
The “smoke” coming up when bleach is poured on it makes me think it’s almost certainly some sort of fungus, with fine spores. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/16 "2019-06-05T13:49:32Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Are you sure it’s not animal poo? My first thought when I looked at the OP’s pic was bear poop. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/17 "2019-06-05T14:08:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The “smoke” coming up when bleach is poured on it makes me think it’s almost certainly some sort of fungus, with fine spores. Slime molds make spores too, though they’re not fungi. My guess would also be a slime mold, as they feed on decomposing organic matter like wood chips. And they can move. Slime molds are such strange organisms. They’re not plants, they’re not animals, they’re not fungi, they’re not bacteria… So what the heck are they? They’re basically giant amoebae. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/18 "2019-06-05T15:00:12Z")
Given that this is a daycare, it sounds like there’s the potential for an educational experience here. Scoop some up (together with the woodchips it’s growing on), put it in an aquarium, and wait to see what it does. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/19 "2019-06-05T17:35:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Given that this is a daycare, it sounds like there’s the potential for an educational experience here. Scoop some up (together with the woodchips it’s growing on), put it in an aquarium, and wait to see what it does. That was actually my suggestion once we (thanks to all here that helped) figured out what it was. However, the director is in “nuke it from orbit” mode, so no dice. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038/20 "2019-06-05T18:41:17Z")
Before you destroy it all… what does it taste like? Maybe volunteer one of the braver kids? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-are-these-weird-black-masses-erroneously-called-tick-nests-on-the-forest-floor/835038.md?page=2)