The Crab Spider

Heya guys I'm back for another bug entry and this time I'm back in full force baby!~

I was looking through all the photos I have taken over the few months I was gone and I realised how many cool bugs I actually have to show you guys and I cannot wait!!
Right...let's begin...shall we?

Today's entry will on the Crab spider, not to be confused with the Spider Crab which is an entirely different thing despite being part of the same phylum, Athropoda.

The crab spider (Thomisidae Thomisus) is part of the Kingdom Animalia, phylum Athropoda and is classed as an Arachnid. For everyone else it is simply another spider in our garden. BUT I think you'll find that there is a lot more to this spider than meets the eye! For starters this spider is quite unique in many many ways. The first is how it got its name in the first place, it is called a crab spider because, wait for it, it very seldom walks forward! It is, most of the time, walking sideways! Just like a crab. This is due to a special adaptation in the way it's legs are laid out exactly like that of a crab's legs. the front two legs are very large and strong and the back few are much smaller. These guys have the same shape and movement of a crab! This movement is very useful for them because these spiders are not very quick or agile, so should they need to quickly get off the top of a flower and underneath, walking sideways is quicker because they don't have to waste time turning and walking forward.

These spiders, unlike your typical spider that spins a web, prefer hunting with the element of surprise. They have a very special camouflage technique which I will explain now. If you ever want to find a crab spider, the first and most likely place you will find one is on an open and brightly coloured flower. These spiders can come in a diverse range of colours from blue, to pink to white to yellow or even green! and often they can come in mixtures of the colours I just mentioned. But you might be wondering...what happens if a bright yellow crab spider finds a lovely flower to hide on but the flower is, say, white? Hehehe here comes the coolest part...these spiders can CHANGE COLOUR. I repeat, CHANGE. COLOUR!! In fact, I'd have called these spiders chameleon spiders but someone else got to name it first :I

Anyway, the spiders are able to tell what colour they are surrounded by due to the visual feedback of their awesome eyes. The colour changing process happens by the spider secreting a pigment into the surface cells of their bodies, the process itself takes about a few days maximum. These spiders rely mostly on touch for hunting, they will sit on a flowers and spread their legs out sideways and wait patiently. When a bee lands on the flower and touches the spider in the slightest it pounces, grabs the bee firmly with its two strong front legs, and injects venom into the bee so potent that the bee is dead within seconds. Don't worry though, crab spiders are absolutely harmless to humans and never bite in self defence as they rely on camouflage and standing still. The spider then sucks the bee dry as fast as possible and then discards of the husk quickly as these spiders are even more vulnerable when they are eating. They cannot move very quickly and having a bee stuck to you isn't that good of a camouflage. Also I think it is worth noting that these spiders are not cowards, they will attack insects and other spiders much much larger than themselves, sorta like David and Goliath except David had a lethal dose of poison and he sorta pounced on Goliath and injected him and then...okay so not so much like David and Goliath but you get my point.

I think it is time for pictures! My favourite part



I was lucky enough to find one WITH a bee in its jaws

Okay right there's just one last thing I want to clear up before I close off

THIS is a CRAB SPIDER




THIS is a SPIDER CRAB



KNOW the difference, it COULD save your life

Well that's me done for today, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post! If you have any questions at all about anything I will be glad to answer them as best I can, also, if you would like me to do an entry on a specific bug or even a critter of some kind just pop a request in the comments and I will do it for ya! Otherwise I have some pretty cool entries planned for future and I will see YOU next time! Ciao!!~ Simon out!