Brilliant orange with black spots, 3 distinctive white spots at top of each wing.
Common throughout island from spring to fall.
2-3 inch wingspan. Commonly seen in yards and gardens. Host plants are various species of passionflower vines, including Maypop. Adults feed on nectar from flowers.
Orange with distinctive black and white patterns.
Common throughout island during summer and fall months.
3-4 inch wingspan. Well known for long annual migration (3,000 miles). The larval stage is entirely dependent on milkweed plants.
Blackish-brown with yellow band and spots.
Common throughout island from spring to fall.
4-5 inch wingspan. Often seen around swamps and wetlands. Host plant is typically the red bay, which is declining drastically due to an exotic parasite.
Olive‐green to brown body. Bluish claws and legs. Males can be distinguished from females based on claw color and underside pattern. Males have reddish‐orange color only on tips of claws, while the claws of females are reddish‐orange throughout. Males also have a distinct rocket ship pattern on underside and females have a upside down U‐shaped pattern.
Brackish and saltwater ponds, creeks, river, ocean.
Commonly caught using chicken necks and weighted hand lines. Very good to eat. Size limit is 5 inches from point to point. No crab traps are allowed in Kiawah Island ponds.
Purplish-tan with a thick oval body and black tips on claws.
Saltwater creeks, river, ocean.
Up to 5 inches across with very large claws. Usually caught in crab traps. Take care when handling these crabs since the massive claw of an adult crab can easily crush a finger. Stone crabs grow very slowly and are protected from harvest. Regulations allow you to "pop off" the larger of the 2 claws after which you must return the crab to the water. The crab will regenerate the missing claw. Stone crab claw meat is highly sought after and considered a delicacy.
Light tan, “sandy” colored. Prominent eye stalks.
Beach and dunes. Most active at night.
2-3 inches square. Lives in burrows in dunes. Wets gills periodically in the ocean. Females lay eggs in ocean. Very fast and can run up to 10 miles per hour. Ghost crabs will prey on sea turtle eggs and hatchlings.
Brown shell, long tail, rounded body, 5 pairs of legs on underside
Beachfront, saltwater rivers and creeks.
Actually an arthropod and not a crab. Eats bivalves, sandworms, and other invertebrates. They pre-date dinosaurs and have been around for 450 million years. Molted shells are common on the beach.
Reddish-brown body and small claws. Live inside snail and whelk shells for protection. Their back 2 pairs of legs are specially designed to hook into these shells.
Banks of saltwater rivers and creeks, tidal pools, ocean.
Our local hermit crabs live in saltwater and will die if taken out of the water.
Dark brown to olive colored with square, flattened shells.
Very common near salt marsh.
About an inch wide. Eats marsh grasses such as spartina. Spends most of its time on dry ground. Commonly seen on docks and even crossing bike paths near the marsh.
Purplish body with white claws.
Sand and mud banks along saltwater rivers and creeks, marsh.
Males have 1 large claw and 1 smaller claw. Females have 2 small claws. Males wave large claw back and forth in a territorial display. Uses claws to gather sediment to eat. Digs deep burrows that help aerate the marsh.
Transparent blue- purple color, long tentacles.
Ocean and beachfront, usually during summer.
Not a true jellyfish, actually a colonial organism. Drifts freely in ocean currents and wind, no means of locomotion. Painful sting. The best treatment involves removing visible tentacles with a gloved hand or shell, rinsing area with seawater, and applying an ice pack for pain relief.
Rounded shape, purplish-white and translucent. Darker interior.
Ocean inlets, ocean, river. Washed up on beachfront.
Up to 7 inches wide. Rarely stings humans unless handled and ruptured. Very important food for Loggerhead and Leatherback Sea Turtles.
Gray, brown, elongated shells. Usually in clusters.
Intertidal areas of saltwater rivers and creeks.
Forms large beds that provide vital fish habitat. Filter feeder. Helps environment by removing sediment and pollutants from water. Popular local seafood, typically harvested by hand at low tide in fall and winter.
Whitish- brown, 2 long brown antennae, sharp horn (rostrum) on top of head.
Saltwater ponds, creeks, river, ocean.
Uses legs to swim slowly forward or can move rapidly backward using its tail. Highly sought after for food. Most often caught recreationally in cast nets during late summer and fall. Often used as bait by inshore fisherman.