Lobsterling

In the first few days of the fourth stage the lobsterlings are good swimmers — this is their "redeeming vice" — but the swimming is strong and bears no comparison to the aimless drifting movement characteristic of larval stages.

The approach of the molt seems to start the lobsterling on its course to the bottom; accordingly when this is delayed until after the fourth stage, it probably does not often occur until the approach of the succeeding molt.