Angela Capinera
Your Mind In Bloom, LLC
June 20th has been designated as International Horseshoe Crab Day. I finally captured an image I’ve been wanting to capture for years. One of the most difficult parts of explaining why horseshoe crabs, limulus, prefer soft, sandy beaches goes right to the acrobatics and gymnastics they need to perform for survival.
The picture below happened by complete accident on a local beach. I was walking along, watching the shoreline when I saw this female limulus arched in an upside down “V” shape. The tide was coming in and she had some time recently been flipped over by the waves. The arching, placing her telson, her tail, into the sand was her hardwired biological impulse to flip herself over to protect her undersides that were now vulnerable to nearby seagulls.
Watching horseshoe crabs flail their legs when they remain stuck in an upside down position reminds me of watching newborn infants reach out, grasping for something that may or may not be there. They are searching for the sand to dig into and/ or the water to head back into for their safety from predators on land.
I flipped her over and wished her Godspeed as she disappeared into the waters of Long Island Sound. I hope she made it, I hope she laid all of her eggs, I hope she makes it back to her original point of migration, I hope she lives and returns for another 10 to 15 years to our shores, I hope she lays another million or so eggs in the coming years, and I hope I get to see her (and her children) again and people 15 years from now will as well.
Thank you. Many blessings. Have an awesome day.
“Never confuse Motion with Action.” – Benjamin Franklin
