Lobster and Rice

In the past couple of weeks, we've had a few days of very heavy rain and, as a result, the rice fields are starting to fill up. As someone who is most acquainted with nature through the medium of David Attenborough and the like, it's very exciting for me to see the baby shoots starting to appear first hand and the changes that come with that, such as...lobsters?

I was walking into uni last week when my razor sharp eyes picked up on what appeared to be a small, red lobster moving in a paddy puddle. After mentioning it to a teacher at the uni, she confirmed that lobsters do, indeed live in rice fields. Mind. Blown. (at this point, I should probably apologise for the terrible photo that I took, bit in my defence, those things are really small!)

Introducing Procambarus Clarkii. More commonly known as 'Red Swamp Crayfish' of 'American Crayfish', these freshwater crustaceans were introduced from America in the 1920's as a food source for bullfrogs and have since flourished due to lack of predators and their ability to survive in a multitude of conditions such as areas that are only seasonally we or even mildly salty water. Not to be confused with Cambaroides Japonicus or 'Japanese Crayfish', the American Crayfish is bright red in colour and is usually between 5cm and 12cm in length which, combined with it's hardiness, makes it an excellent pet for the fishy-inclined. Burrowing down in the loose sediment of rice fields, ponds and swamps (as it's name would suggest), this crayfish tends to sleep during the day and venture out at night for food, but it's active burrowing can often cause problems with the irrigation in rice fields, which can damage crops. Unlike most species of crayfish which are herbivorous, these guys will eat anything from aquatic plants to tadpoles, worms and even dead animals.

I hope that you all enjoyed learning something new today, and even if it isn't technically Japanese (though it's been here longer than instant ramen), I had a great time info-dumping on this. See you next time!


References:
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Image taken from:
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