Crayfish

Last summer I decided to invest in a pair of rubber boots so that I could ford streams or wade into ponds and wetlands in search of dragonflies. When I got into the water I found that it was a habitat that I had not really explored that had a lot of potential for someone who enjoyed photographing wildlife, like myself. One fun thing that I have found to photograph as I have been walking through the water is crayfish. Like this crayfish that I photographed at the Snake River.

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans that are related to lobsters. During the day they spend most of their time at the bottom of streams, rivers, lakes, etc hiding under the rocks and logs. At night they come out to feed on minnows, tadpoles, fish eggs, insect larva, worms, snails and algae. There are three different families of crayfish consisting of over five hundred species. Members from two of the families can be found in North America, Atacidae, which is found in the west as well as in Europe and western Asia, and Cambaridae, which can be found in eastern North America and eastern Asia. The other family Parastacidae are found in several places in the southern hemisphere such as South America, south Asia and Australia.