The expression to show a person “where the crayfish hibernate” has a clear meaning. Given that crayfish, common in freshwater bodies of Europe, winter deeply, the promise is of very bad value.
The only way out is to know exactly where the crayfish hibernate. This is the only way to explain to the potential offender his wrongness in a particular issue.
Meet Cancer
Imagine that in front of us is ordinary cancer. The biological name of the species is Astacus astacus. The length of the adult reaches 20 cm. If it survives. Color depends on the habitat, therefore, varies from brown-green to dirty brown.
Cancer lives, by the way, in exceptionally clean fresh water. It can be a river, stream, lake, pond or a flooded quarry. The issue with the cleanliness of the reservoir is the key. These animals are markers of ecological cleanliness of the area. They disappear first if the pond is polluted. And the last to return if the ecosystem has recovered.
What do crayfish eat?
Crayfish, whose place of wintering offer to know the good people are evil, omnivores.
- Firstly, they eat meat, rich in protein, and food. The diet includes well-fed mollusks, wriggling worms, insects with their offspring at the larval stage, fish fry and tadpole algae.
- Secondly, all the crayfish products mentioned above eat, but only in a dead form. To the smell of dead frogs, humans or fish come from a fairly large distance. Because of this passion for carrion crayfish, they were excluded from the list of kosher animals.
- Thirdly, cute broad-toed crayfish like fortified aquatic plants - water lilies, water lilies and algae. In winter, fallen leaves are included in their poly-paleo-diet. Fourth, every adult cancer has cannibalism.
Interesting fact: with equal morphological parameters, the female always eats more than the male.
Eating animals, regardless of their gender, is preferred at dusk or at night. Overlooking the stars, so to speak.
Behavior
We have already found out that it hunts and eats cancer at night. What does he do during the day? Hiding. Under stones, in holes, in objects or hulls of sunken ships that once fell to the bottom. In an extreme case, between the roots of trees growing on the shore. In their free time, crayfish dig holes. If the breed lining the bottom of the reservoir allows the depth of the cancer burrows can reach 120 cm.
Cancer holes
Of these, they control the territory, and also track the movements of females suitable for breeding. Crayfish need these burrows when they are in a molt period. Growing individuals molt about 6 times a year. Adults, if survived, 2 times a year. Animals deprived of chitinous cover are defenseless in the eyes of predatory fish and their own relatives. Therefore, crayfish prefer to stay out of their burrowing days.
Where do crayfish hibernate?
So we got to the most important question - where are the crayfish wintering? If in the summer they prefer to solve their physiological problems in shallow water, then in winter they get to the depths. In the offseason, all crayfish dig burrows. With cooling, they sink deeper and deeper. And digging holes again.Their works are especially noticeable if the bottom of the river is lined with clay or sandy soil. In their (or strangers - it doesn’t matter) burrows crayfish survive the winter.
Common crayfish hibernate at the bottom of their pond in a narrow and long hole. Therefore, the desire to show a person "where the crayfish hibernates" is not only rude, but also has a very specific - sharply negative, meaning.
