Tag: #GhostCrabs

Ghost Crabs of Assateague

What are ghost crabs? They are small 2-3 inched sized crabs that live in nickel sized to half dollar sized holes in the sand. The entrance to their abode is between the high tide level and the low tide level. They have long legs and their eyes are sitting on the ends of stalks.

Ghost Crabs of Assateague

Although they spend most of the day under the sand and are known to come out at night, I found these in the early morning hours and late afternoon.

Ghost Crabs of Assateague – Atlantic Ghost Crab

I think these are all Atlantic Ghost Crabs. They have a square shaped body that can change colours to match their surroundings. This helps them camouflage from their predators which include: seagulls, raccoons, and other shorebirds.

Ghost Crabs of Assateague

Atlantic Ghost Crabs are omnivorous. They eat, bugs, clams, eggs and hatchlings of loggerhead turtles, and plants. The only thing I caught them eating were grass like plants on the beach.

Ghost Crabs of Assateague

I saw many of these crabs along the Assateague Island State Park beach. One activity people do is bring a flashlight at night to the beach to find them. As you can see though, it appears you can also see them at times during daylight. If you go to Assateague, happy hunting!

Ghost Crabbing

What is a ghost crab? A ghost crab is a sand coloured crab that comes out at night. The Atlantic ghost crab lives on beaches that are not crowded along most of the Atlantic coast. A fun activity while visiting Assateague Island is Ghost crabbing.

I followed this group on Assateague Island at the State Park. The beaches at the state park for campers are great places to find the Ghost Crab as they are not crowded during the day. If you are in Assateague head to the beach at night and see if you can catch these quick crustaceans.

When to Find Them

Since ghost crabs burrow in the sand during the day and emerge at night, the best time to try to catch them is after it gets dark. They say the younger ones burrow closer to the ocean while the older ones burrow farther away.

What To Bring

Bring a net as these crabs can scurry quickly. Also bring a flashlight, but a headlamp as this girl is wearing makes it easier to catch them because you then have two hands free.

How to Catch Them

When you shine a flashlight on the ghost crab if freezes momentarily. Then it scurries away. The best time to try to catch them is when they freeze.

Catch and Release

When you are finished, release the crabs. I understand people do not eat these. No ghost crabs were harmed in this activity.

The next morning I saw many remains of ghost crabs next to the water. There are birds that like to catch them and eat them when the sun starts to rise.

Get out and enjoy nature! Expand your knowledge and have fun while you do.