Crawdad/Crayfish
OK, so I am supposed to be doing Scout stuff (minutes, updating the website, etc) and I am stuck on your sight. Yes, I have been looking at it for almost 2 hours now! As I peruse various pages, I came across the crayfish. I couldn’t resist! As you may now know, we had a great time at Timothy Lake (Oregon). Not only did we get to see a fabulous sight (the butterflies), but my wonderful son and his buddy went snorkeling for crawdads. At first I was a little skeptical to eat them, but YUM! You don’t have to post, but I thought you might enjoy the pictures. BTW, thanks for the great site. I have already added to my favorites and cannot wait to share with others. It’s a lot of work and dedication. Thanks to you there is a wonderful resource for finding out What That Bug?
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the kind letter, though we feel guilty you are shirking your duties by indulging in the guilty pleasure of What’s That Bug? We have eaten Crawdads, and think they are delicious as well. We like to distinguish between the term Crayfish, to mean the living creature, and Crawdad as the potential food source.
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Posted 15 August 2006
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please tell us what this is
the kids and i went for a walk and thought we saw minnows swimming around in swamp near home.when we looked closer found out it was some kind of larvae . can you tell us what this is? it swims on its back i think?
Steve
Hi Steve,
Fairy Shrimp are Crustaceans that are usually found in the spring in ponds that dry up in the summer. Eggs are laid and wait in the dry mud for spring rains or winter thaws before they hatch. They are relatede to Sea Monkeys.
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Posted 19 April 2006
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Bee/Wasp?
Hello Mr.Bugman.
WOW! What a Treasure trove of Bug Info! I am a Land Hermit Crab owner and I have recently found a Bee or Wasp, Dont quite know. She is Mostly Black with some thin White Stripes around her Abdomen and Seems to have Some Fuzz on the Thorax. I am in Western Massachusetts and Since it is Early February, Releasing it out into the Environment is not an Option at this time. Can ya Please Help me Identify her And if known, What May I add to my Crab Habitat for food? The Pictures of her is on a Piece of Cholla Wood. I am guessing that she is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in Length. Thank you for any assistance.
Mike
Hi Mike,
This looks like a Leaf-Cutting Bee in the genus Megachile. Female bees like cells in rotting wood or soil with circles of leaves that they cut with their mandibles. The cells are then filled with pollen and nectar and an egg is laid. The best food source you can provide for your tenant consists of fresh flowers, so you might be amassing a substantial florist bill.
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Posted 11 February 2006
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Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to look. Realize this is not a true insect, but many of the “bugs” you i.d. are not, so hope you can tell me what this little (about an inch long) tank is! It was seen on a beach on Cedar Key in Florida in late summer. Thanks in advance for any help.
Jacque Merritt
Hi Jacque,
This is a Marine Isopod. We are not sure if it is Ligia occidentalis, which is found on the west coast, or some other species in the genus. It is sometimes called a Beach Cockroach Rock Louse or Sea Slater.
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Posted 18 January 2006
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Unknown insects in the puddle
Hello!
I’m from Russia , Ural region, Ekaterinburg city. This summer my daughter discovers paddles along forest road. She finds out those bugs. They swim at the bottom quick enough. What is it? It looks like prehistoric insects. I made digital photo in two projections – view from above, bottom view and merged in one.
Best wishes!
Greetings,
These are not insects but Crustaceans. We believe they are Copepods in the suborder Harpacticoida.
(09/20/2005) Copepods from 9/15
I believe these are actually Triops (not sure of the species). You can buy them in kits to raise (lots of fun! And if you’re good, you can keep the colony going). Very old critter, related to trilobites. They live in vernal pools and the like. My triops (& mosquito pupae)
Janet Sugino Brinnon WA
Thanks for the correction Janet. Here is a link with more information on these prehistoric creatures.
Request for Information
(06/19/2006)
Dear Bugman
Hi from France. My name is Eric and I study triops. That’s why I collect everything on the web concerning this branchiopod. I saw on your website a message coming from Russia with a picture of (unidentified !) species of triops. Do you think that it could be possible to join this person ? Thank you by advance
Eric
Crayfish Heaven
Hello again Bugman,
If you like fishing for big game fish and you like to use Crayfish, you should come up here because in the river by my Grandmother’s house (it’s very rocky) you could probably find at least 10 big ones underneath a rock. Here’s a picture of the biggest and the smallest ones I caught and let go today. The biggest one was 4 inches (I measured them) and the smallest one was 1 inch.
Bryce
Hi Bryce,
Your photo takes us back to our childhood.
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Posted 06 August 2005
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bug I can’t Identify
Dear Sir or Madame:
Attached to this E-Mail is a jpg photo of a bug unlike anything I have ever seen before. I am no expert by any means, in fact I normaill have no interest in bugs. However this particular bug was appoximately 5 inches long and very strange looking. I know the photo is kind of far away, my girlfriend took the photo and was afraid to get to close. Regardless, if you could help me identify this bug I would be greatly appreciate it. The only guess I can make is possibly a whip scorpion.
Thank You,
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
This is a Crayfish, also known as a Crawfish, Clawfish or Crawdad. It is a crustacean, a fresh water relative of the lobster.
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Posted 20 July 2005
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Unidentified Bug
Please us to learn what this bug is. We took a few pictures for your
review. The tail looks like a lobster’s tail. It has long straight shaped pinchers. Dark brown in color with a few light colored blotches on its tail. There are things underneath it’s tail shell, they may be eggs.
Mark
Hi Mark,
This is a female Crayfish (Crawfish, Clawfish, Crawdad) and she is a fresh water relative of the lobster. They can survive on land for long periods of time, burying themselves in the mud.
What is this?
Came across your website when trying to identify this “nest” found in a nature reserve in South Australia . Is it a wasp nest? Anything you can tell me would be appreciated.
Our first guess would be a Crayfish (or Crawfish or Clawfish or Crawdad) Burrow, but it is shaped differently than the ones we see stateside. I would also guess possibly a termite mound.
What’s that nest?
Hello,
We have spotted two nests in the yard of a home we’re looking to purchase in southern Illinois that we’d like to have identified. The picture shows one of these nests from above. The nests are pillar-like, and knobby, not just piles of dirt. At the core of the pillar is a hole that’s approximately 1 inch in diameter, the opening of a tunnel that runs into the yard, evidenced by a curvy path of dead grass. The tunnel is not soft like that of a mole. Any ideas? Thanks!
Kevin
Dayton, OH
Hi Kevin,
Your hole sure looks like a Crayfish burrow to us. These lobster-like crustaceans will bury themselves in the mud when their ponds dry up.
(04/08/2005) Crayfish Burrow
I would like to open by saying that I look at your website a lot and find it very fascinating. Thanks for a great service. I have never mailed before but I had to respond to a picture that you put up today. I am born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and would like to offer some info on the picture titled ” Crayfish Burrow (04/07/2005) What’s that nest?” You are correct that is a crayfish hole or down here better known as a Crawfish. We have them anywhere near fresh water and they are great to eat!
Thanks again.
Maureen
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Posted 07 April 2005
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