Lmst

Every sense alert. She's as curious as a kitten, and her eyes, antennae, antennules, even the hairs on her legs keep this Grainy Hand hermit in touch with her world.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A close view of a hermit crab looking straight at the camera. The eyes, on orange stalks, are wine-red, with a dark centre. Beside the eyes, on the outer side, the two orange antennae are spread wide, the tips reaching out of the photo. Between the eyes, the two antennules, the smelling and tasting organs, wave constantly, looking like little candle flames, bright orange. The legs and chelipeds come towards the camera; only the first segments are visible; they're brown with lighter buttons and long hairs; these are also sensory organs.
The hermit is wearing a green shell, out of focus in the photo.

Every sense alert. She's as curious as a kitten, and her eyes, antennae, antennules, even the hairs on her legs keep this Grainy Hand hermit in touch with her world.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

So many choices! Too many? A small hermit crab checks out the stock of new outfits; a dozen assorted shells, mostly native varieties, with one imported zebra nerite. And there's that big whelk shell; too big now, but give him time ...
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

On the right, a green and brown hermit crab stands on top of a large, whitish whelk shell. He wears a brown and white mud snail shell, clean and new-looking. Below him, on the floor, lie a mix of shells, all but one unoccupied. There are more of the mudsnail shells, long and narrow, some brown and white, a couple dark brown. There's an oval, white shell, and an exotic; an orange shell striped with black (this one purchased from a pet store).
Background; water, and more shells, blurred by the water currents.

So many choices! Too many? A small hermit crab checks out the stock of new outfits; a dozen assorted shells, mostly native varieties, with one imported zebra nerite. And there's that big whelk shell; too big now, but give him time ...
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

In a pensive mood. Hairy hermit gazes into space, tastes the water with those delicate antennules.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Side view of a Hairy hermit crab. The light shines on the top of his carapace, highlighting the tiny hairs. The eyes on stalks seem to be looking upward; between them, the antennules stretch out. They have a green shading to orange segment, then a S-curved segment, pale bluish, ending in a point; below that, there's a small spike; these are sensory organs, smelling and tasting the water. The hermit wears a round, dark grey shell. At the bottom of the photo, light shines from behind through the leg hairs. Background; water, pieces of bull kelp.

Another look at a hermit crab's food-handling equipment. In case of accident and loss of the chelipeds, these three pairs of maxillipeds can do the work of collecting and transporting food until the next molt, when there will be new chelipeds.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Close-up photo of a Hairy hermit's face, the eyes lifted on their stalks, the green antennae spread widely. In the centre are the varied mouthparts; going from bottom to top, the 3rd pair of maxillipeds, here curved downwards. Then two smaller pairs of maxillipeds, pale blue, sharply angled. And above that, the white mouth. The hermit's body is pale brown, the legs brown and yellow, and very hairy.

Do you see a second face here? Really, it's just a Hairy hermit crab displaying his mouthparts; mandibles and 3 pairs of maxillipeds, all used for holding, turning, sorting, cleaning, tearing, crushing food.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A hermit crab faces the camera. The chelipeds and legs are brown, the antennae green and white dotted lines, the eyes black and grey on green stalks. They're wearing a mudsnail shell, long and narrow, with 7 spiral turns and the body whorl.
Underneath the eyes, a variety of mouthparts are visible; in the centre, in a white patch, the mandibles (jaws). Below, on both sides are three pairs of elbowed grabbers, the maxillipeds; these are green with white patches.
I haven't been able to identify those black holes that look like spare eyes.
Background: sand underfoot, floating eelgrass in the water.

The daring young hermit on the flying trapeze. Young Hairy hermit plays on eelgrass roots swaying in the current.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

1. A small hermit crab wearing an old shell with a hole in it over his carapace. The shell is severely eroded and coated with patches of blackish algae. The hermit's legs and chelipeds are brown, with blue and white markings on the legs. The antennae are dotted green and white lines.
The hermit stands on thin white roots floating in the water. There's one eelgrass blade on the left, about as wide as the hermit's carapace.

2. The current has floated the eelgrass roots away from the blade and the hermit now hangs upside-down with his side towards us, his eyes at the bottom, shell above, from the place where the roots join a broken bit of decayed eelgrass.

3. Now the roots have rotated, and the hermit is right side up, with his back to us. Through the hole in the shell, the pattterns on his carapace are clearly visible; stripes in two shades of brown.

4. And another position. Now he's upside-down again, this time facing us, with the roots above him.

Colourful! A Grainy Hand hermit crab is arrayed in a blend of shades: green, baby blue, orange, red, and sometimes chocolate brown. Here the red Turkish towel seaweed matches Hermie's eyes.
#VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Side view of a hermit in a grey, algae-encrusted whelk shell. The hermit, facing left, has one light green cheliped; the other, and the legs are a yellowish olive green. All these are covered with small, baby-blue knobs. The antennae are a vibrant orange, as are the smaller antennules; the deep red eyes stand on yellowish stalks. The carapace, orange on top, dark reddish on the sides, has a covering of yellow hairs.
Hermie stands on a blade of Turkish towel seaweed, deep red, and covered with bumps (papillae).

Life cycle of a snail shell; first as part of a living snail (here a periwinkle), then an outfit for a hermit crab, then, broken, it serves as protection or a base for various organisms (here an anemone). Finally, coming full circle, it releases its calcium into the water for recycling into the next living snail's shell.
VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Underwater scene. A hermit crab faces the camera; yellow legs and body, with white tips on the large cheliped, blue knees, stripy eyes on yellow stalks. The antennae are green with white dots. On the left, a small periwinkle snail, in charcoal grey with white patches, climbs the hermit's shell. To the right, below, there's a much-broken shell, this one inhabited by a small, white anemone. Beneath, on the sand, are many pieces of snail shell, cream-coloured, yellowish, and green with black spots.

And then again ... Maybe the new shell wasn't as comfortable as it looked. Hermie decides to go back to his old outfit. (2 of 2 posts) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

1. The same hairy hermit (yesterday's post) wearing the new shell. Here, he has stepped over close to the old shell, turned it mouth upward, and is looking it over again; his left cheliped and an antenna are inside the shell, one blue-kneed leg holding the outside. The new shell is much cleaner, and the edges of the old one are chipped. But ...

2. Now he's rolling the older shell. This is one of the common tests of a shell's usefulness. BTW, the tip of the spire, the spiral turns above the body whelk, is broken off.

3. The switch. Hermie pulls his abdomen out of the newer shell, and quickly inserts it back into his old one.

4. And he's inside! He turns to face the camera, peering out from under the lip of the shell. And now it's apparent that he's missing a few appendages; he has only one cheliped, the left one, and only one large leg on the left, two on the right. The 4 smaller shell-grabber legs are now hidden inside the shell.

And then again ... Maybe the new shell wasn't as comfortable as it looked. Hermie decides to go back to his old outfit. (2 of 2 posts) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Shell swap. Here a small Hairy hermit wearing an exotic Babylonian whelk shell, investigates a newer one, then in 4 photos, moves into it. (1 of 2 posts) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

1. A brown hermit with blue knees, wearing a white shell with brick-red patches, somewhat spotted with algae, reaches into the open whorl of a newer shell of the same species. Two legs span the new shell on the outside; seen in the photo also are one leg and one cheliped, probing its inner spiral.

2. The hermit has abandoned the old shell. Here, he twists his abdomen around to insert it into the new shell, standing head down, abdomen above. His small shell-grabber legs are visible next to the darker abdomen.

3. The hermit is now inside the new shell, head, antennae, chelipeds and 2 legs exposed. The older shell lies, discarded, off to the left.

4. And now he's retreated deep inside the new shell, leaving only the tips of legs, a cheliped and an antenna visible, and has rotated the shell into an almost walking position.

Shell swap. Here a small Hairy hermit wearing an exotic Babylonian whelk shell, investigates a newer one, then in 4 photos, moves into it. (1 of 2 posts) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A brown hermit with blue knees, wearing a white shell with brick-red patches, somewhat spotted with algae, reaches into the open whorl of a newer shell of the same species. Two legs span the new shell on the outside; seen in the photo also are one leg and one cheliped, probing its inner spiral.

Challenges: In some areas of the intertidal zone, or after adverse events, intact shells are hard to come by, and growing hermit crabs use anything available. Here, one wears a shell missing the body whorl. (Offered a newer shell, they quickly change over.) #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

A Hairy hermit crab, seen from above, and wearing a broken shell that exposes two sections of the hermit's carapace and a small part of the vulnerable abdomen. The hermit's body is patterned in green and brown; towards the abdomen, it changes to red. The shell is severely worn and pockmarked. It has lost the entire body whorl, and the hermit has occupied the narrower spirals on the spire.
(This hermit is a rescue, pictured upon arrival in the aquarium. Within a few minutes, it switched to a good shell from those on offer.)

Frilled Dogwinkle egg cases. 20 to 80 eggs in each one. New blog post: https://wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2025/05/counting-eggs.html #VancouverIsland #Invertebrates #IntertidalInvertebrates #MarineLife #Nature

A mass of egg cases; oval, stalked cases with pointed tips aimed towards the camera (only one stalk visible), crowded together. Most are yellow; some have pink sections. Inside many of the cases, small white eggs can be seen.

Stylish outfit: a tiny orange and white hermit crab poses for a portrait wearing a blue and tan pleated Nassa shell. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Side view of a hermit crab standing on a broken piece of kelp holdfast, a dark brown tube. The hermit displays orange and white legs; the larger cheliped is half hidden on the far side, behind the holdfast. The hermit's shell is clean, with no algae visible, quite small with only 4 spiral turns; the bottom turn is pale blue, with raised lengthwise ridges; the top three turns are pale brown, with blue ridges.
Below, between other pieces of the holdfast, are two long mudsnail shells, in browns and white; they're occupied by hairy hermit crabs, barely seen in the background.

The weight of the world on her shoulders. A hermit not only chose a shell already burdened with large barnacles, but then, another hermit climbs on top of it all. Patience, patience. #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit

Two hermit crabs. The lower one, standing on the sand, is wearing a shell so loaded with barnacles — at least 5, maybe 6 — that the shell itself can't be seen. The second hermit, larger than the first, stands on top of the barnacles. The hermit below stares at the camera; she seems to have a resigned, sad expression (I'm attributing human emotions to her, I know). But can she even walk? Can she lift that load?
The barnacles are coated with algae, pink and brown. The upper hermit wears a moon snail shell, still mostly clean and white. There's a blade of eelgrass behind him.

There are worms down there! New blog post: https://wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2025/05/tubes-of-sand-tubes-of-glass.html #VancouverIsland #Inverterbrates #IntertidalInvertebrates #MarineLife

On a sandy beach, three small worm tubes, built out of sand, stand alone. On the sand, there's a dusting of brownish alga fragments, and near the top, a blade of brown alga and a good amount of torn green sea lettuce.

Baby bath time. Ma Hermit carries her eggs on the sides of her carapace, and periodically waves them about in the water, washing them. Are those black dots eyes? #VancouverIsland #HermitCrabs #IntertidalInvertebrates #Invertebrates #MarineLife #DailyHermit #InvertebrateReproduction

#IntertidalInvertebrates

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