Females, which are smaller than males, spawn 300–800 olive-green eggs per brood,[5] which are fertilised from a spermatophore which the male has deposited at the base of her walking legs (pereiopods) during mating. Fertilised eggs are affixed to the female's pleopods, situated on the underside of the tail. Incubation takes approximately six weeks and the newly hatched juveniles rapidly become independent