Chapter XL— THE HABITS OF THE LOBSTER FROM THE TIME OF HATCHING 



TO THE PERIOD OF MATURITY. 



When the lobster hatches from the egg it is scarcely a third of an inch long. It 

 rises to the surface, where it leads for a number of weeks a free-swimming, larval life, 

 totally unlike that of an adult. After the fifth or sixth molt, its larval locomotor organs 

 having atrophied, it sinks to the bottom, and though now resembling the adult lobster 

 in outward form it is scarcely more than half an inch in length. 



The free swimming habit of the lobster is characteristic of the first five or six 

 stages of its existence. In Vineyard Sound and outlying waters we have taken the 

 swimming stages during the summer months, the latest capture being a fifth larva on 

 August 28. This period lasts from six to eight weeks, varying slightly with the 

 season and greatly with the individual. It will be convenient to deal with the habits 

 of the larvae more fully in describing their structure and growth. 



From the end of larval life until the later adolescent period the lobster drops out 

 of sight almost completely. It is a singular fact that the habits of the young lobster, 

 from 1 to 4 inches long, have never been well uuderstood. Many fishermen have never 

 seen a lobster less than 2 or 3 inches in length, although they have fished the greater 

 part of their lives. Lobsters under 5 inches long pass readily between the slats of the 

 traps and hence are seldom caught. Rarely, however, one is found clinging to some 

 part of the gear and is brought up by accident. 



Sars in the course of his studies upon the European lobster, traveled along the 

 coast of Norway from Lurhavn to Bergen, June 19 to August 19, 1875, but was unable 

 to obtain any young lobsters from an inch to a finger's length, and says : 



So far as I know, none are found in any museum. I consider it as certain, however, that the 

 lohster keeps near the coast also during this stage of development. The reason why they can not be 

 caught with the bottom scraper is partly because of their quick movements, and partly from the 

 circumstance that they hide among the algas on the bottom of the sea. (176.) 



He says that young lobsters 3 to 4 inches long were the smallest known when 

 he began his studies, and he has nothing to add beyond a description of the first 

 three larvse. 



Spence Bate remarked in 1879 that "common as the European lobster is, it is 

 very remarkable that a very young specimen has, as far as I know, never been met 

 with." 1 He offered a reward for very youug lobsters, but never obtained any less 

 than 3 inches long. 



Ehreubaum, whose paper was published in 1894, refers to the same uncertainty 

 which has so long enveloped the history of the lobster from the close of its free- 

 swimming life until it reaches a length of 4 inches (10 cm.). The smallest lobster 

 which had been taken at Heligoland up to that time had attained a length of 4.1 cm. 

 The next largest was 7.8 cm. long. He speaks of a collector who, in the course of 



'Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, London. 



F. C. B. 1895—11 161 



