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Order Decapoda
I spotted a crayfish burrow ("chimney") on the ground in the woods near a wetland area. It looked like a model volcano made of mud, maybe six inches high. The mouth of the "volcano" was ~1" wide; the base was ~5-6" wide. The "most common species [of crayfish] burrow during the late summer, spend most of the fall and winter underground in water filled tunnels, then move to open water ... ." Source Credit: "Crawfish and their chimneys" (see "Other site").
Huntley Meadows Park, a 1,425 acre wetland area in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. Related Resource: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/huntl...
Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com
Spotted on Apr 27, 2012
Submitted on Apr 29, 2012
3 Comments
I consulted an expert on the crayfish of HMP. The type of crayfish that creates the chimneys is unknown. It is believed the chimney-building crayfish live in the burrows year-round: the crayfish emerge from their burrow at night and move to the water to feed; the crayfish return to their burrow in the morning. The expert tried and failed to trap one of these crayfish; she is considering alternate plans for building a trap.
Oh wow I've never seen this! Thanks
Thanks for the Interesting posting.