Flower Crab Spiders

Photos taken:
2022/09/03
[ CW: bug death :( ]

This is a very well camouflaged flower crab spider I found on some wildflowers!

Collage of four photos of a spider crawling around the stem and petals of a bright yellow flower. The spider has long legs that are sprawled out wide, and has an abdomen that is the exact shape and colour of a lemon. Running down the sides of the spider's body are two dark brown stripes.

Naturally, crab spiders get their name from their two front pairs of legs being very long and resembling a crab's claws, because not even the bug world can escape from carcinisation. One day we will all become crab. As for this particular species, flower crab spiders are of course commonly found on flowers; hiding behind flower petals and patiently waiting to ambush flying insects who happen to land looking for pollen.

Some species can even change the colour of their body to match the flower they're hunting on, which is why this one's body matches the bright yellow of the petals so closely!

From what I understand based on its size and colour, the spider in these photos is female; males tend to be smaller and have more complex markings on their body. She's very cute! Not only does she have a little lemon on her back, but the darker stripes down the side of her body are super cool too!

In this photo you can see the spider getting ready to ambush an unsuspecting... solitary bee? Wasp? They were very small so it was kinda hard to tell, but I love how mischievous the crab spider looks here! I can't help imagining her rubbing her little pedipalps together like a cartoon villain and giggling.

A zoomed out photo of the previous flower. Sitting in the middle is a small dark bee or wasp that has small yellow stripes running across its abdomen. Hiding on the very edge of one petal is the flower crab spider looking menacing but also extremely silly.

"Heh heh heheh..."

Hymenoptera fans will be happy to know that the spider didn't get a meal here! I was getting ready to take a photo of her pouncing but no, she just sat there and let them fly off. Perhaps she wasn't in a good position to attack or maybe getting stung was just too risky.

I went back the next day to see if our spider friend was still there, but we had a rain storm in the night which completely destroyed these flowers, and sadly I did find a dead spider curled up by the stem so it's possible the one in these photos might have died...

RIP lemon spider, I hope you got to eat one last tasty bug.

There is good new tho, as soon as new wildflowers started blooming again I found more flower crab spiders! Loads of them in fact. All bright yellow and all happily hunting little flies. I even managed to find one enjoying a well-deserved meal! Congratulations to her!