• AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    34·
    5 months ago

    We always called those “sand crabs” and these sand fleas image

    Those are also called “sand flies,” and they actually bite and suck blood and stuff. The things linked really are little crabs - we used to fish with them.

    • Xanthrax@lemmy.world
      13·
      5 months ago

      Hated those in Virginia. We’d call them horse flies, but we just called any fly that bites a horse fly.

      • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        5 months ago

        You know, on the page I found it, it says it’s a sand fly, but I think you’re right. Sand flys are really small, and I’m not sure I’ve seen a magnified version of them. Looking for other images, I think this is really one and the other is mislabeled: image

    • Broken_Monitor@lemmy.world
      27·
      5 months ago

      Totally harmless, if a bit ugly. Not sure why we called them sand crabs when I was a kid and would catch them in a bucket. All they do is try to burrow and hide under wet sand, so when you hold them they try to crawl into your hand. It tickles a little.

        • Broken_Monitor@lemmy.world
          23·
          5 months ago

          What? No way, these things can’t jump! There might be actual sand fleas or other bugs that do that, but not what this guy has in the picture

          • CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.workOPEnglish
            2·
            5 months ago

            They’ll stay still for a while in your hand, but then start trying to scurry causing them to clumsily “jump” away.

  • Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    9·
    5 months ago

    You can eat them. Boil them like shrimp.

    Source: Jon C., a friend from work who used to dig them up and sell them.

    • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
      19·
      5 months ago

      In some cultures, sand crabs are eaten as a popular snack, such as in Thailand. They are often prepared via shallow frying in a pan or deep frying in batter. The taste is often described as falling somewhere between that of shrimp and crab. Eating sand crabs presents a risk of paralytic shellfish poisoning and/or infection with Profilicollis parasites.

      !!

  • ⓝⓞ🅞🅝🅔@lemmy.ca
    9·
    5 months ago

    We always called them sand fleas within our family. Never really knew what their real name was and hadn’t realized others called them sand fleas as well. We often used them as bait for fishing.

  • MudSkipperKisser@lemmy.world
    7·
    5 months ago

    I remember digging those up on vacation in Naples Florida in the summers. We used to call them sand fleas too, although I now think that’s not the correct term