bond / nexus

(or the never-ending search for a well-fitting home)

The entity of hermit crabs and their vital need to protect the abdomen through adoption of snail shells as homes: The hermit crab lives in snail shells or similar hollow objects from wood and stone. This behavior is vital for survival because the abdomen is soft and exposed (compared to related crustaceans which have hard and calcified abdomens). This vulnerable and unsheltered arrangement results into an existence guarded by a snug empty seashell. Without it they would be an easy target for predators.