A mudbug is a nickname for a crawfish (also called a crayfish), a small freshwater creature that looks like a tiny lobster, usually about three to six inches long. Mudbugs live in rivers, streams, and swamps, where they burrow into the muddy bottom, which is exactly how they got their colorful name.

In Louisiana and other parts of the South, mudbugs are famous as a delicious food. People catch them by the bucketful and boil them with spices, corn, and potatoes for huge outdoor feasts called crawfish boils. At these gatherings, you twist off the tail, peel away the shell, and eat the tender meat inside.

The word mudbug captures something essential about these creatures: they're tough, scrappy little animals that thrive in muddy water where fancier creatures couldn't survive. If you visit Louisiana in the spring, you'll see restaurants advertising mudbug season, and you might spot a big pile of bright red shells on someone's picnic table afterward.