Hidden Predator
Hidden Predator
[Image description: a white spider hides in a raspberry flower, clutching its honeybee prey]
It's very hard to spot these guys, I'm glad I managed to catch it and share it with you all.
That's really cool. Do you happen to know what kind of spider it is?
11I'm not certain, but I think it is Misumena vatia, the Golden-rod crab spider
I've also seen similar spiders on borage, common milkweed, and sea kale, if you're in the native range and interested to go looking
11
The horror is tangible
10I had a similar white spider between the leaves in my raspberries eating a fly, but it was somehow holding the leaves together, preventing me from getting a better look without disturbing it's meal. Seems like I can't add an image to the comment tho
5If you've uploaded it to another site like imgbb or
catbox.moeimgur you can link it directly in the comment withOtherwise, check to see if it's over 4mb or 4000x4000 (iirc)
ETA: it's possible they're the same if not somewhat closely related. I've only seen them in tight flowers or clusters before this evening but it's hard to tell if the petals were closed in some fashion
4Thanks for the tip, here's another attempt uploading as you suggested:
This was the first spider like this I've noticed in my garden, but it was while I was picking berries in July. I'll watch the blooms next year. From your other comment I did see a crab spider in my parents garden earlier in the spring, the legs do look similar *Edited with more into
7Catbox should honestly really be avoided. It's blocked for such a huge range of users unless they use either a non-default DNS or a VPN (depending on which specific block they're behind).
This includes all users in Australia, the UK, and Ireland. American customers of Comcast, Verizon, and Spectrum and Canadian customers of Rogers. And any user who has their DNS set to the popular alternate DNS of Quad 9.
If uploading photographs in particular, it also does not remove EXIF or other metadata, which may expose GPS location or other potentially sensitive information to everyone.
5
This comment has a blank image tag in it that, if clicked, crashes Jerboa.
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Wow, so cool!!
I just read in this fantastic book that many of the spiders "hiding" in flowers are actually brightly UV colored and even attract pollinators by giving the flower some extra shine. It may often seem to us like they blend in (because we cannot see UV light) but they might do something entirely different!
5That's neat! I'll be taking the uv flashlight out tonight to see if I can find spiders fluorescing like hornworms do and will report back
6Ooh nice, would be nice if you could report back if you find anything :)
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