Two particular characteristics of sand have shaped the adaptations of these sand-dwelling animals. Permeability means that animals can swim and burrow through the sand with remarkable ease. They can excavate tunnels and underground chambers. Larvae of root-eating beetles can move around a plant, grazing on its rootlets. Larvae of predatory beetles and flies can hunt for the beetle larvae or for underground caterpillars.
Snakes can move along the subways left by fast-moving moles.
Ants and termites build subterranean corridors and chambers throughout. A wingless, blind scarab beetle species probably never emerges from the sand. Several species of tiny yellow ants never appear on the surface, only the males and queens emerge for their mating flight. Several species of beetles have males that emerge from the sand and fly to disperse. However, the females are flightless and remain buried just under the surface of the sand.