A lot of peelers are starting to show up in the crab pots here in the Northern Neck.  A peeler is a crab that is ready to shed and become a soft crab.  Almost all of the peelers right now are female.  You can tell a peeler by a small red line inside its backfin and if it is a female the apron will be a dark color.

When a female crab gets ready to shed for the last time in her life she will mate.  When she is close to being ready to shed her old shell a male crab will pick her up and carry her underneath him. If you have seen doublers as they are called then you know what I am talking about.  After she sheds they will mate. 

The male nature tickles me. When you pull a crab pot if there are any doublers you will see them as the crab pot comes out of the water.  Now the female crab can be carried by a big male crab or a small one and this is where the male nature shows up. 

If it's a big mature crab he will let go of her but if it's a small crab watch out.  He doesn't let go for anything.  Sometimes he will even hold on to her the whole time you're shaking all of the crabs out of the pot and he will fall out of the pot still holding her.  When you go to pick him up he will try to fight you while still holding her. What does that sound like to you?

Well the male is not all bad. If the female peeler is not caught in a crab pot she and the male will mate as soon a she sheds her shell and is a soft crab.  After they mate the male crab will turn her back over and continue to carry her until her shell has hardened and she can defend for herself.