Whoa, baby! This mama crayfish has been busy carrying her babies around!! What is interesting is that the eggs are typically laid in March and April when spring starts to warm up, and the mothers carry their young in May and June. This mother is already carrying her babies in March, which shows how unusually warm our winter and spring has been. Breeding can occur again in July. The young crayfish mature in their second year of life.
Missouri has been blessed with at least 32 species of crayfish, more than most neighboring states! The majority of the different species are found in the Ozarks Region (18 species).
Photo: Female crayfish by USFWS.
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