No. 44I-] 



HABITS OF CAMBARUS. 



He found that young crayfishes which are red, clue to the pre- 

 sence of large chromatophores, changed to blue or black or 

 suffered no change as the adults of the locality were blue, black 

 or red. He finds that the burrowing crayfish. C. diogcucs, comes 

 out in the spring much the color of the soil, but this color is 

 gradually changed to red in the open sunlight. Other obser- 

 vations indicate that in the case of C. gracilis, as typically a 

 burrowing species as C. diogcucs, the females are always olive- 

 green no change taking place during the time they are to be 

 found in the ponds in the spring, while the few males which 

 have been taken are a marked salmon red, although they had just 

 left the burrow. In C. carolinus, another burrowing species, 

 "red" and "blue" individuals seem to occur. While it is 

 undoubtedly true that individuals of a species taken from dif- 

 ferent localities may show marked differences in coloration, cau- 

 tion must be exercised in designating all the differences as pro- 

 tective adaptations. 



Observations on the breeding habits are very limited. As to 

 the time of copulation and oviposition a few data have been 

 recorded. In C. diogcucs, upon the habits of which more has 

 been written than any other species, copulation and oviposition 

 seem to occur in the spring. One observer found females in 

 burrows carrying eggs in March and April, while another gives 

 the middle of May as the approximate time of hatching of the 

 eggs. Another observed C. diogcucs and L. gracilis, kept in 

 aquaria, copulating in the spring and never found crayfishes 

 (sp ?) mating except in March, April and sometimes May, and 

 was able to get reports of females "in berry" later than Jkine in 

 only two instances. Another observer reports the species as 

 copulating in the open water April 2nd and laying eggs. April 

 i 8th to 30th. A female with eggs in an early stage of develop- 

 ment has been reported May 3rd. 1 hese observations were 



is the taking of a female with eggs nearly ready to hatch, on 

 January 1st and might suggest autumn oviposition, as has been 

 observed in some other species. Females of C. gracilis have 



young and i 



