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The Crayfish of Nebraska

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35 mating in October. 92, 247 Females carrying eggs ("in berry") were collected in April in Kansas and in April and May in Indiana. 180, 247 Eggs varied in diameter from 2.1 to 3.0 mm and larger crayfish had larger eggs. 180 Females with young were found in June in Michigan and in May and June in Indiana. 32, 180 Free-living juveniles were found in open waters in August near Valentine, Nebraska. 54 Most of my collections of the Devil crawfish in Nebraska have been of juveniles. To date, only seven adult male Devil crawfish have been collected and, of these, two were Form I males collected in March and the rest were Form II males collected in May (2), July (1) and August (2). Nine adult females were collected in April (1), May (2), July (1), August (3), and October (2). None of these had eggs or young. PRODUCTION AND GROWTH Little is known of the food habits, growth or longevity of this species due to the difficulty in collecting adequate numbers of specimens. FEEDING AND SPECIES INTERACTIONS The foods of the Devil crawfish are unknown but it is thought that they leave their burrows at night to forage on vegetation. 37, 151 There have been instances of predation on snakes when both were using the same burrow. 23 On the other hand, crayfishes, including the Devil crawfish, are food to many species. Documented predators of the Devil crawfish include rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss; yellow perch, Perca flavescens; pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus; rock bass, Ambloplites rupestris; bowfin, Amia calva; northern pike, Esox lucius; largemouth bass, Microperus salmoides; painted turtles, Chrysemys picta; snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina; Queen Snake, Regina septemvittata; green heron, Butorides virescens; American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus; white ibis, Eudocimus albus; kingfishers, Megaceryle sp.; eastern belted kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon alcyon; foxes, Lutra sp.; raccoon, Procyon lotor; and otter, Lutra Canadensis. 78, 109, 184 The Devil crawfish (among others) has been called an ecosystem engineer through its construction of burrow systems. Their burrows are used as a summer refuge by an endangered dragonfly during times of stream dewatering. They are also used by reptiles and amphibians for winter hibernation. 190 One burrow had five Common Garter Snakes in addition to the crayfish. 23 Devil crawfish burrows have been used by the endangered

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