When it comes to courtship and dating, lobsters (Homarus americanus) may be more like humans (Homo sapiens) than we think. For both, romantic relationships can be rocky. Despite what you may have heard on “Friends,” lobsters do not mate with one partner for life. Lobsters have multiple short-term partners!
In this article, we will uncover amazing lobster sex facts and learn how they mate and reproduce.
If only lobsters could access online apps like Match.com or Tinder to find their lifelong soulmate.
Do Lobsters Fall in Love and Mate for Life?
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“She’s your lobster. C’mon you guys. It’s a known fact that lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You can actually see old lobster couples, walking around their tank, you know, holding claws. … See? He’s her lobster!”
Phoebe Buffay, The One With The Prom Video, Friends Sitcom
Refers to the person with whom another is meant to be with forever. The term originated due to the belief that lobsters mate for life. (At least, according to Phoebe.)
Spoiler Alert: lobsters do not mate for life. Lobsters are not monogamous. The real story is that lobsters often have multiple partners! The alpha male lobster is often seduced into one-off sexual encounters. According to Dr. Bob Steneck, who studies Marine Sciences at the University of Maine, male lobsters may mate with as many as 10 females in a season.
Typically, the female lobster’s relationship only lasts about two weeks before she moves on. A female will mate with one male per breeding season. This does not mean that she will mate with the same male; the female will choose the most dominant male each time she chooses to mate.
Do you want to romance your better half? How about a special lobster dinner? See our romantic gift ideas and dinner packages.
How do you tell between Male and Female lobster?
How could one tell that lobster is a female or male by looking at them? The female and male Maine lobsters differ biologically. There are a few ways to differentiate a male from a female lobster. Generally, the male lobster will be larger than the female lobster and have larger claws. Here are some ways to tell the difference between male and female lobsters:
Swimmerets
If someone wants to differentiate the genders of lobsters at a glance, the simplest way to do so is by looking at the swimmerets, which are small appendages/limbs under their tails.
Turn the lobster upside down and look at the midsection where the tail meets the main body (thorax). On the underside of the abdomen, there are five small pairs of fins called swimmerets. Swimmerets are also called pleopods and help the lobster move forward when it is crawling on its legs. They help clear out sand and, for a female lobster, hold and aerate her eggs. To learn more about lobster anatomy, read our guide on the parts of a lobster.
The first pair nearest the head is one way to tell the difference between a male and female lobster. They are the reproductive organs.
Females: The top set of swimmerets in females is the attachment point for the eggs. The hairs on the swimmerets will be longer on a female lobster. They are feathery and soft and crossed at the tips. Female lobsters also use them to move water over their eggs to provide them with oxygen.
The female also has a receptacle that appears as a shield wedged between the third pair of walking legs. During mating, the male deposits sperm into this receptacle, where it remains for several months until the female uses it to fertilize her eggs as they are laid.
Males: The male has large, hard swimmerets. They are bony and opaque and point upward toward his body. Unlike females, male swimmerets are modified to transfer sperm to the female during mating. They are called gonads.
Differences in Male and Female Lobster Tail
Male Lobster Tail: The male’s tail will be straighter than the female’s and have spikes on the underside of the tail.
Female Lobster Tail: Female lobsters have wider tails with a slight curve (allowing room in the tail to store the premature eggs).
Difference in Size of Lobster Claw
Males are typically larger and have bigger claws. They often have larger claws than females, which are adapted for fighting and displaying dominance. Females usually have smaller, more uniform claws.
Maine Lobster Mating and Courtship
The female is more choosy than the male lobster. She is attracted to the largest, most aggressive male lobster. Large male lobsters are important as female lobsters will only mate with males who are as large or larger as they are.
The courtship commences when the female lobster visits an alpha male’s nest. To attract or “seduce” the male lobster, she sprays her love potion, a pheromone-laced urine. These chemicals are released in a stream of urine sprayed out of the openings just under her antennae. The male lobsters use his urine aggressively, but the female lobsters shoot it as a way to seduce a potential love connection and to drug him into submission! If multiple males are interested, they will fight each other for her.
If the male is ready to mate, he will beat his swimmerets to spread this love drug all through his den. The male will raise his claws aggressively. The female can accept his invitation by placing her claws on his head or move on and find a new partner.
How do Lobsters Reproduce?
The female lobster mate when it has shed its shell and is in the soft-shell stage, whereas a male can mate immediately before or after molting.
Once invited inside the male’s love nest, the female lobster molts her exoskeleton or shell to expose her sex organs (Read more about how lobsters molt). Ovaries are the reproductive organs in females, while males have testes.
Right after she has shed her shell (molted), the female is vulnerable, but the male protects her. While mating, the male lobster utilizes specialized appendages called gonopods to transfer its sperm to the female. The male will turn her over and pierce her abdomen with his pair of pleopods to deposit sperm packets called spermatophores into her sperm receptacles. These will store up to 15 months before she releases her eggs.
The actual sex act takes about eight seconds and generally happens with the male on top of the female lobster. After sex, the male is hungry and devours the female’s old shell.
If the female is satisfied, she will sojourn for two weeks until her shell is firm enough to leave the male’s den. If the female needs to gather more sperm to fertilize her eggs, she may leave early to meet up with another willing suitor.
The male lobster’s bachelor pad is now available for another date and a possible two-week romance.
Maine Lobster Eggs
Berried Female: A female lobster with its eggs attached to its swimmerets.
Female lobsters can carry live sperm for up to two years before deciding to fertilize their eggs. She carries the eggs inside for 9 to 12 months and then externally attaches them to her pleopods (swimming legs) with a glue-like substance. The bottom of their tail may be covered with thousands of tiny black dots. An egg-bearing female lobster is called a berried lobster due to the appearance of its black eggs.
Do Lobster Lay Eggs?
Depending on her size, the female lobster can lay up to 100,000 eggs. A 1-pound female lobster usually carries approximately 8000 eggs. A 9-pound female may carry more than 100,000 eggs. A freshly laid lobster egg is the size of the head of a pin (1/16”).
According to NOAA Fisheries, she usually hatches her eggs within 9-12 months once the waters are warm enough for her larvae to survive. When the eggs hatch, the mother releases them by fanning her swimmerets. Of the 10,000 eggs that a female may release, only 1/10 of 1% may survive. (That’s only 10 eggs!!)
When the eggs hatch, the larvae float near the surface for 4 to 6 weeks. The few that survive settle to the bottom and continue to develop as baby lobsters. Only 2 lobsters are expected to survive to legal size from every 50,000 eggs.
Can you Eat Lobster Eggs?
Yes, you can eat lobster eggs. Roe is the eggs found in a female lobster. Lobster roe, also called coral, is green-black raw and turns orange-red when cooked.
Famed Boston chef and lobster aficionado Jasper White describes the taste as mild with a crumbly texture.
What is a V-Notch
This is when lobstermen use a special tool to clip a “V” notch in the middle flipper of the tail to indicate an egg-carrying female (berried female) — a practice that the lobstermen used in the early 20th century to conserve the egg-bearing females in the ocean.
By law, a female lobster carrying eggs must be thrown back if it is caught. Catching a berried lobster is illegal, and the V-notched tail helps other fishermen instantly identify an egg-bearing female. It must be returned to the sea if caught again. Learn more about how fishermen work to make Maine lobster a sustainable fishery.
Lobster Reproduction and Life Cycle
Larval stage
In the larvae stage, they remain near the surface and undergo three molting stages (shedding off the old shell while absorbing water). At this stage, they are vulnerable and easy prey.
Post Larval stage
Only a few larvae survive past the fourth molt. Following the fourth molt, they settle to the bottom, searching for places to hide, such as rocks and grassy areas, where they continue to develop as post-larval lobsters.
Juvenile Stage
At this stage, they hide less and wander around quite a lot. These lobsters molt around 25 times before becoming adult lobsters.
Adult Stage
After 5-8 years, lobsters reach adulthood. Adult females molt once after two years, while males molt every year once
Do male and female lobsters taste alike or different?
Male and female lobsters taste alike. However, some lobster lovers prefer female lobsters for the taste. Contrary to the difference in their biology and anatomy, male and female lobsters differ slightly in their amount of meat.
If anyone wants to eat claw meat, male lobster is preferable; if tail meat is the choice, then female lobster is preferred. However, some lobster lovers prefer female lobster for the taste. This is due to the roe (unfertilized egg sac), which is found in female lobsters. Lobster expert and Chef Jasper White adds cooked lobster eggs, the ‘coral,’ to soups and sauces.
While females often contain the treasured roe, their tails are no more tender than those of their male counterparts. As mentioned earlier, male lobsters have larger and, thus, meatier claws, while females have larger tails and more meat there. Order fresh Maine lobster from Lobsteranywhere and decide for yourself!
Lobster Sex Faqs
It is not believed that female lobsters eventually reach a ‘no-longer-reproductive’ stage.
When a lobster’s egg hatches, it is about the size of a mosquito in its early larvae stages and resembles a reddish-green bug, not an adult lobster.
Lobsters only mate after the female has molted and is in the soft-shell state.
The roe, or eggs, within female lobsters, are present at the base of their bodies, nestled within the abdominal cavity. This placement ensures protection and nourishment for the developing offspring, safeguarding their viability until they are ready to hatch.
The roe, or eggs, within female lobsters, are present at the base of their bodies, nestled within the abdominal cavity. This placement ensures protection and nourishment for the developing offspring, safeguarding their viability until they are ready to hatch.
Yes, when raw, lobster roe tends to be dark, almost black in color. However, once cooked, it transforms into a bright red hue
References
Lobster Love: A tale of romance under the Sea. (2024, March 29). Mother of Corals. https://motherofcorals.org/2023/02/16/lobster-love-a-tale-of-romance-under-the-sea/
Air, F. (2011, April 7). Under the sea, sex is slimy business. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2011/04/07/135043954/under-the-sea-sex-is-slimy-business
Ham, J. (2020, February 14). Don’t look to lobsters, or any Maine wildlife, for a love story. Press Herald. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/02/14/dont-look-to-lobsters-or-any-maine-wildlife-for-a-love-story/
Corson, T., & Sollers, J. (2004). The Secret Life of Lobsters: How fishermen and scientists are unraveling the mysteries of our favorite crustacean. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL9233246M/The_Secret_Life_of_Lobsters
King, Richard J. Lobster. Reaktion Books, 1 Jan. 2012.
