Karen Calder, Electric Blue Hermit Crab (January Theme: Blue)

This quirky little underwater character is no bigger than 2cm and always being on the move made him a challenging fellow to photograph. The name, “hermit crab,” is a misnomer. A common definition of a hermit is, “a reclusive or solitary person.” This does not apply to hermit crabs. These animals love the company of their own kind as hermit crabs live in colonies. Also, hermit crabs are not true crabs. This is because they are not born with a hard exterior shell. This is why they get shells from other sources. A hermit crab without a shell looks more like a lobster. So, why are these animals called hermit crabs if neither word is accurate? ‘Hermit’ applies to the fact that hermit crabs rarely abandon their shells. Technically, this means they are always home alone.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.