Crabs

Barbados is home to a variety of both land and sea crabs, some of which are shown here. Only one land crab that I am aware of is edible, Swampy, and they tend to be found close to streams and swamps. Swampies hide in holes during the day and come out to feed at night, so small hunting parties will go out to catch these by hand. They can be very large, with a man’s wrist being easily encircled by a claw. They are also very quick and agile. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of swampies though I did go on a couple hunting expeditions in my youth.

Soldier Crabs change their shell as they grow, and the one shown here has moved into an empty shell from a Giant African Snail. Again, these tend to come out at night and will forage for any scraps (such as dog food) that may not have been finished off. They are land crabs but tend to live within a few hundred yards of the sea. The Soldier Crab in the photo was hiding from the heat of the day under a plant in a flower pot.

Red Crabs live on the land, but always in close proximity to the sea. They will have holes all over your lawn if given the chance, and which they will vacate at night to hunt or in the event of rain - it’s quite spectacular to see a lovely green lawn littered with bright red crabs after a heavy downpour. These too are very shy and will disappear into their hole at the slightest sound or movement.

Ghost Crabs live on the beach. They seem to disappear into the sand, move very quickly and have more permanent holes above the high water mark. As you can see in the photo, Ghost Crabs are the colour of the sand - very well camoflagued. You can just sit quietly on the beach and they will go about their business ignorning you, but the minute you move or try to get too close, they will be gone.

Last but not least is the Shagga Crab, so well camoflagued that you can barely make it out in the photograph. These live on rocks that get washed constantly by the sea, and they will sit still until a human gets too close or a bigger wave crashes on them. You can see them on craggy rocks at the waterline anywhere around Barbados