Continuing our walk around The Point and as we walked along the beach we spotted hundreds of soldier crabs feeding at low tide. They are fascinating to watch.
They don't surface for long because as soon as they have had a good feed, they tunnel their way back into the sand.
Must be an amazing sight Babs thank for including the interesting link, watched it and learned a new word " Bioturbation" every days a school day, lol:)
@quietpurplehaze
Am with Hazel insofar as want/need to know more. They look rather like a kit of legs with a blue bead added! @richardcreese
I'd like to know how big they are too.
The crabs are between 4 cm and 11 cm in size, the actual body being about the size of a large cherry. There were literally hundreds and hundreds on this stretch of beach and they wander around in large armies before returning under the sand when the tide turns.
Here is a link Margo with more information on the crabs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mictyris_longicarpus
They vary in blueness Debbie depending on their age and I guess the light this day made some of them bluer than others. As we walked along the beach, some groups were much paler and smaller.
@pcoulson Thanks Peter, yes we learn so much on 365 don't we including new words. They are fascinating to watch as they move around the beach in large colonies. Glad you enjoyed the link.
@peadar@sangwann Feet are quite safe from these soldier crabs. As soon as they see movement from anything that looks like a predator the whole battalion moves off in another direction.
@golftragic They were too busy marching in unison to salute as well. This was only a small group of the whole battalion, there were hundreds and hundreds on the beach. It looked like an invasion.
@hrs No wonder you haven't seen any in your part of the world, they have all moved here. There were hundreds on this beach and just as many on the other beaches around The Point too. Quite fascinating to watch.
Wow! I can't imagine seeing that in person! Most of the crabs I've seen on our beaches are ones that have washed up on shore and are dead (of natural causes I'm sure).
That's so interesting! I loved watching the little video of them all, so funny watching them scuttling along like that. Amazing how they bury themselves into the sand like that too, fave.
Love the colour of them and your great composition too..
Am with Hazel insofar as want/need to know more. They look rather like a kit of legs with a blue bead added!
@richardcreese
I'd like to know how big they are too.
If you haven't checked out the youtube video above, please do so, they are lovely creatures.
Here is a Wikipedia link with more info on the soldiers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mictyris_longicarpus
The crabs are between 4 cm and 11 cm in size, the actual body being about the size of a large cherry. There were literally hundreds and hundreds on this stretch of beach and they wander around in large armies before returning under the sand when the tide turns.
Here is a link Margo with more information on the crabs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mictyris_longicarpus
They vary in blueness Debbie depending on their age and I guess the light this day made some of them bluer than others. As we walked along the beach, some groups were much paler and smaller.