Fairy Shrimp

Description:

Fairy shrimp are between 0.5 and two inches in length and have 10 pairs of leg-like appendages called phyllopods that are used for swimming. They swim slowly and belly-side up.

Habitat:

Vernal Pond

Notes:

The shrimp appear when the vernal pools fill up in late March and early April, hatching from hardy eggs that spend the winter buried in dry leaf litter. Once hatched, the shrimp complete their lifecycle in just a few short weeks, laying next year’s eggs and, in the meantime, providing a rich food source for birds, amphibians and other vernal pool visitors