Ten‐legged floral visitors

Flowers sometimes attract unwanted guests, but crabs are especially incongruous floral visitors. Two species of land crabs have previously been reported to consume floral parts in Brazil, but florivory may be a more widespread strategy among land crabs than previously thought. The mangrove tree crab (Aratus pisonii) was observed visiting black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) flowers at multiple sites in Florida (left), and the Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) was seen visiting A germinans flowers on a Belizean barrier island (right). Are these crabs helping or hurting A germinans? While it was unclear which floral parts were most attractive, these crabs appeared to be focusing their efforts on the interior of the flowers, rather than on the petals. Nutrient‐rich pollen may be the target of crabs’ foraging efforts (Crustaceana 1997; 70: 118–23; https://bit.ly/2Hh75ba). The sugar‐rich nectar may also be attractive. In any case, crabs seemed to frequently damage the flowers’ sexual parts while foraging, removing stamens and/or stigmas, suggesting that the effect of crab floral visits is probably net negative for A germinans. However, one A pisonii individual collected at an A germinans inflorescence had pollen on its claws – so the possibility of pollination by crabs exists. How frequently this happens, how crab florivory affects coastal plant reproduction, and how much florivory contributes to land crabs’ diets are questions that remain to be answered