Female octopuses will protect and groom their eggs until they hatch at which time, the female will die. Male octopuses die shortly after mating. Octopuses mate from late winter through early spring. Female octopuses will not eat the entire time they’re caring for their eggs. They’re continuously protecting and cleaning the developing embryos by flushing jets of water over them.

I photographed this female red octopus (Octopus rubescens) on a pier pilling under the Newport Pier. Some friends of mine from the Orange County Underwater Photographic Society (OCUPS) originally discovered this octopus and natural history event on one of several dives they made under the pier.