West Virginia
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.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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