Crab Campaign: An Invasive Species Tracker's Journal
In other words Stop lying around and go do something Chinese mitten crabs Talk about destiny I asked him to hand me the poster SCIENCE SQUAD Wanted dead or Alive Distinct Notch between eyes furry claws with White Tips Carapace Maximum Width of Four Inches Chinese Mitten Crab
He said You can borrow it but when you’re done with it return it I had to hold back an eye roll Put things back where you found them he always says Even though his advice gets old he’s often right After waiting a decent amount of time I didn’t want him to think I was too interested in his suggestion I went to the Mitten Watch website listed on the poster Here’s some of what I learned The Chinese mitten crab is from East Asia and has hairy claws with white tips and a notch between its eyes Its exoskeleton called a carapace is usually four inches wide in adults and its legs are longer that its body is wide just like me The scientific name Eriocheir sinensis translates as wool hand the Chinese Their mittens are actually patches of bristles called setae pronounced see-tee This crab looks like a troublemaker and it is It eats other species food and hogs their space so it poses a special threat to the blue crab It also causes erosion because it burrows into riverbanks causing them to collapse Crab Campaign
No one has reported seeing Chinese mitten crabs in the Chesapeake Bay since 2009 but that doesn’t mean they aren’t here There was other cool stuff on the website too fliers you can print out and mug shots of crabs that have been captured where they were captured and the date they were captured My Squad could have a crab on that page someday There was also information on what to do if you find one which is Do not throw it back into the water Looks like my dad’s advice to put things back where you find them doesn’t apply to Chinese mitten crabs Ha SCIENCE SQUAD
Revised Prediction Awesome Summer Breaking News This summer is going to be awesome I can’t wait for Joey Dante and Elmer he should be back in the States soon to hear about my idea for our Science Squad project They’re going to love it More to come later
