Blue crawdads are found in West Virginia more than anywhere else

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Almost any species of crayfish can have a mutation that occasionally makes them blue, but West Virginia has four distinct species that are almost always blue.

12 News spoke to crayfish expert and Professor and Co-chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at West Liberty University Zachary Loughman who said that there are approximately 10 crawdad species that are blue, and if you’re looking to see one, West Virginia is one of the best places.

How to see them

All four blue species in West Virginia are burrowing crawfish, meaning you won’t see them in creeks and steams because they dig holes down to the groundwater to keep their gills wet.

However, according to Loughman, the odds of seeing one are “pretty good,” depending on the weather. You are most likely to see them in the spring between March and early June when there’s rain, and they are most likely to come out of their burrows at night, so Loughman said the best way to see one is to find a burrow during the day and then come back to it with a flashlight after it get dark.

The burrow entrances are marked by small “chimneys” made of mud that are often on hillsides and in ditches and swamps. Loughman said during his research, his team has had to dig up to six feet underground to find some species of burrowing crawdads, especially in the later spring and summer months.

What kind of blue crawdad you might encounter depends on where you are in West Virginia. There is no overlap in distribution among the four species, and they are all unique and distinct from each other, so some species are easier to find than others.

“The only thing they have in common is that they’re blue and they all have these little quirks that you can use to identify them,” Loughman told 12 News.

Species across the state

A species simply called the Blue Crayfish was discovered more than 100 years ago and is the most widespread species of blue crawdad in West Virginia. They can be found on the Allegheny Plateau in the northern parts of the state as well as in southern parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Its scientific name, Cambarus monongalensis, is for the Monongahela River. The blue crayfish can be identified by the bright red on the tips of its claws. About half of the population of Blue Crayfish live in West Virginia.

If you’re in the higher elevations of West Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains, you might see an Allegheny Mountain Mudbug, which wasn’t named until 2019. It’s the smallest of West Virginia’s blue crawdads and only gets to be about an inch long. Loughman told 12 News that it is the most likely species to see walking around not in a burrow, and he frequently gets reports of these crawdads being seen by hikers in places like Dolly Sods and the Cranberry Wilderness. The majority of its distribution is in West Virginia.

The Blue Teays Mudbug can be found in—you may have guessed it—the Teays Valley area. It can be found along the Interstate 64 corridor between Charleston and Huntington and along the Kanawha River between Charleston and Point Pleasant. The blue color of the Blue Teays can vary a lot from animal to animal, ranging from a pale blue to almost purple. It can only be found in West Virginia.

The Meadow River Mudbug is located in high-elevation wetlands in the southern part of West Virginia, spanning from Union in Monroe County up to Lewisburg in Greenbrier County. It is “chunky” compared to the other blue crawfish in the state, and has white on its claws and a plate between its eyes. It also can only be found in West Virginia.

Why names matter

Of the four species of blue crawfish in West Virginia, three of them weren’t officially named until within the last 10 years: Meadow River Mudbug in 2015, Blue Teays Mudbug in 2018, and Allegheny Mountain Mudbug in 2019.

Loughman has had a part in naming all of those most recent species, with the Blue Teays Mudbug sharing his last name in its scientific name, Cambarus loughmani. In total, he has named 15 crayfish species across the U.S., which is a process that normally takes a few years.

Naming different species is important because a species cannot receive any type of state or federal protections until it has a name. Naming new species allows for conservation efforts and prevents different species from being lumped together, causing inaccurate data.

“This naming of crayfish and naming of animals is a critical part of the conservation process,” Loughman explained. “We’re not just naming these things to name them. We’ve got to name them to then get the protection, to then, you know, keep them on the planet.”

Loughman said that the Blue Crayfish and Allegheny Mountain Mudbug have stable and generally unthreatened populations. But the Blue Teays Mudbug, which lives in a more developed area, and Meadow River Mudbug, which lives in an agricultural area, are not as stable, although more research is needed to know the extent of the threats.

Loughman and his lab are currently working on getting names established for several other crawfish species, including at least one in southern West Virginia that has a blueish-purple body and bright orange claws.

Environmental impacts

Although they are pretty, blue crawdads, and burrowing crawdads in general, play an important role in their ecosystems as well. Their burrows are up to 30 degrees cooler than outside temperatures, so in hot weather, animals like salamanders, snakes, rodents, turtles and even birds will go inside the burrows to get a break from the heat.

Because burrowing crawfish usually dig down to the groundwater, the burrows can also serve as a water source for other animals during drought conditions.

“Their [crawfish] presence literally leads to more biodiversity,” Loughman explained.

One of the next steps for Loughman and his lab is to compile all of their research about West Virginia crawfish into a book that can be used as a resource for naturalists and other people who are interested in learning about the state’s crayfish species.

“A lot of people ask me ‘why do you care about crawfish?’ And that’s a valid question, and my response to that is like, crayfish are part of our culture in West Virginia. Like, if you have a true West Virginian upbringing, you spend some quality time in a creek, and if you spend quality time in a creek, you’re chasing crawdads. And I just want to make sure that the crawdads that live in our state are here for future kids to chase,” Loughman told 12 News.

If you see a blue crawdad in West Virginia, you can share photos with Loughman’s lab at West Liberty University, which serves as a crawdad conservation center for West Virginia and shares its data with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The best way to share those encounters is by messaging The Loughman Lab – WLU Crayfish Conservation Laboratory on Facebook or emailing Loughman directly at zloughman@westliberty.edu.