by Lesley McLaren
While walking my dog through the vineyards this morning, my thoughts turned to the peculiar looking mole cricket I came across the other day (only the second I've ever seen).
These scuttle rather than fly, and burrow (hence the name), to find their preferred delicacy: vine roots. And I was thinking about how, at first glance, their front feet resemble lobster claws ... when I looked down and saw, walking towards me on the grassy track ...
A lobster.
Was I hallucinating?
No. Roughly the size of my hand, it was, in fact, a crayfish. I know there's been an unusual amount of rain for the time of year lately, so the grass is long, lush and damp, but even so, this was something of a surprising find - about half a kilometre from the nearest pond or stream.
Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me (only my phone) but to prove I'm not kidding:
While walking my dog through the vineyards this morning, my thoughts turned to the peculiar looking mole cricket I came across the other day (only the second I've ever seen).
These scuttle rather than fly, and burrow (hence the name), to find their preferred delicacy: vine roots. And I was thinking about how, at first glance, their front feet resemble lobster claws ... when I looked down and saw, walking towards me on the grassy track ...
A lobster.
Was I hallucinating?
No. Roughly the size of my hand, it was, in fact, a crayfish. I know there's been an unusual amount of rain for the time of year lately, so the grass is long, lush and damp, but even so, this was something of a surprising find - about half a kilometre from the nearest pond or stream.
Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me (only my phone) but to prove I'm not kidding:
When I got close it reared up - balancing on its tail tucked underneath - pincers poised in a convincing threat to grab my dog's nose should he be tempted to investigate, or my finger should I try to move a blade of grass out of its face to get a better shot.
If I moved round, it moved too so it continued to face me, maintaining that intimidating stance. Only when we'd retreated a few feet did it relax and continue on its way. It'll have a long walk to the nearest watercourse, but I hope it makes it.
If I moved round, it moved too so it continued to face me, maintaining that intimidating stance. Only when we'd retreated a few feet did it relax and continue on its way. It'll have a long walk to the nearest watercourse, but I hope it makes it.
