1. Blue Crab Notes

2. Habitat Native to the Chesapeake Bay & along the east coast of North & South America.

3. Males - Called a “Jimmy” - Prefer to remain at the top, or head of the bay in low salinity waters.

4. Females - Immature Females are called “Sally” - Mature Females are called “Sooks” - Egg-bearing Females are called “Sponge Crabs” - Prefer to stay at the bottom, or mouth of the bay in high salinity waters.

5. Sook Sponge Crab

6. Sure-fire way to tell what sex a crab is… Look at its apron. Yes, I want you to make a sketch of this.

8. Softshell Crabs After a crab molts, it’s new shell doesn’t harden up for a few days. Crabs molt about once a month. The crab has just started to molt.

9. The crab has successfully molted. The new shell is 33% bigger. Note that the old gills are left behind. Don't worry, the crab has a complete set of new gills. Crab is very weak after molting.