NATURAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN LOBSTER. 1 89 



incessant activity at night whether in search of prey or not; its irregular migr atory 

 movements to secure, it may be, a rocky bottom where food and better places of con- 

 cealment ahnun^. deeper or warmer water, or, in a word, those conditions which fo r 

 the time suit better certain individuals of one or the other sex for feeding, spawning, 

 or shedding' the shell — these may all be observed in either free or captive animals. 



In every movement the lobster is guided chiefly bv the chemical sense and that of 

 to uch, and, least of all, by its eyes. Thug visio n whir h is never keen, is probably 

 almost nil in hri aVit ligrhts T^'S explains its nocturnal activity and its frequent retreat 

 from lig ht tn sViadow 



Of the habits of the European lobster, Williamson {282) remarks that it has the 

 sense of light and shade, that it will test a strong shadow with its antenna, and will 

 even jump at it with outstretched and snapping claws. It is guided mainly by its 

 antennae, with them finding and exploring every cavern, and with them searching its 

 depths before entering or inserting a claw. As I shall point out elsewhere, the wary 

 lobster, "tiptoeing" over the bottom, feels its way at every step. If food is thrown 

 to the captive, no appeal is made to its sense of sight. The bait remains unnoticed 

 unless it happens to touch one of the antennae or legs; but a Kvely whipping of the anten- 

 nules seems to armounce the awakening of the chemical sense. The lobster immediately 

 takes notice and begins to explore the water with its long "feelers," at first without 

 leaving its hole. The antennules begin to whip in the direction of the food and explora- 

 tions become more active. The lobster cautiously leaves its hole, goes straight for the 

 bait, feeling its way. The food is usually picked up and handed to the mouth parts by 

 the second pair of legs. 



Meanwhile, says Williamson, the expected feast has by association stimulated the maxillipeds, 

 which are actively working as if they were already masticating the food. Once this is seized it is con- 

 veyed to the maxillipeds and the lobster retreats to its hole, there to enjoy its meal. Two lobsters were 

 noticed to have stored up in one case some mussels and in the other a dead sand eel {Ammodytes 

 tobianus) in the inner recesse s of their caves. 



In regard to the interesting question of storing food , we give the account of a 

 lobster which was kept at the Rothsay aquarium in England {302) : 



A flounder was unintentionally left in one of the aquaria, in which three lobsters were living. The 

 largest animal immediately appropriated the fish, which was then dead, and buried it beneath a heap 

 of shingle, over which it mounted guard. Five times within 2 hours was the fish unearthed, and as 

 often did the lobster shovel the gravel over it with his huge claws, each time ascending the pile and 

 tiuming his bold defensive front to his companions. 



To this catalogue of instincts we must add the parental instinct of the mother 

 lobster in protecting her cargo of eggs during the long period of fosterage. The paren- 

 tal instincts of birds are, as a rule, far keener than in the invertebrates; but it should 

 be added that in many of our commonest birds they endure for a time which is only 

 an eighth or a tenth as long. Throu gh her inbred cauti on th e mother lobster sav es 

 not only herself but her progeny from many a strong and clever adversary . Barring 

 the fisherman's trap, she will run the gauntlet of daily life, escape a thousand perils. 



