After one to two weeks, the megalopae undergo metamorphosis to the firsh juvenile crab stage, which is identical to the adult crab except for its tiny size. About a month later, the juvenile crab has grown to the size of a dime. Juvenile crabs burrow in the sediment and remain inactive until April of the following year. Juvenile growth continues throughout the summer and fall as the crabs forage widely in shallow waters and marshes along the bay. The next winter, the crab burrows again in the sediment and become inactive until the following spring when most will reach sexual maturity, copulate, and start the cycle again.
Most crabs die before the onset of a fourth winter, which is a life span of about three years.