The Wall crab spider (Flattie)

Heya guys! I'm back baby!

I am writing this blog post for a special somepony whom I believe has their birthday on this day...no names mentioned *coughIcySkiescough*

I got asked to do a blog post on a really pretty bug...well I had the absolutely perfect bug for that...but then I realised after an hour that I couldn't identify it. Sooo I settled for a blog post on something the exact opposite of prettyDamn ugly nightmare fuel BWAAAAHHHH!!!

Meet the Wall Crab spider, or "Flattie" as people commonly refer to it. Wondering why they call it a flattie? Already guessed why they call it a flattie? Well it's most definitely not because it's flat I can tell you that. Nooo sir. Right, now that the sarcasm and other meaningless pleasantries are out of the way, let me give you a little bit of information on this beautifully hideous example of nightmare fuel.

The wall crab spider is part of the family Seleniopidae. Wondering where that name comes from? None other than the Greek Moon Goddess, Selene! They get called this because the eyes appear moon like. So, hey. At least there's SOMETHING pretty about them...right? These spiders are sedentary or ground dwelling and don't make any webs at all except when laying eggs. They are often EXTREMELY well camouflaged in the wild owing to their intricate markings that mimic the bark of trees or the sandy ground. These guys sit quietly and patiently for anything to walk into their path, much like most sedentary spiders. If you can remember my blog post on the crab spider, I said that the crab spider has such good camouflage to avoid predators because they are very sluggish spiders and cannot get away very quickly. Well the Wall crab spider is pretty much the exact opposite. This thing is bloody fast. Blink and it's gone.

These spiders are quite common here in South Africa but I'm not sure about the rest of the world, they can also be very common house spiders too. I know how fast these spiders are and so quite often when you see one and you try to catch it to get it out of the house it gets very tricky. So I was kind enough to find a video guide on
how to keep track of these spiders and not lose sight of them.

[video=youtube;V6wPTyUlKAE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wPTyUlKAE[/video]

Blink...and you're dead....just kidding. While these spiders may be fast and ugly and look like they wanna eat you. They are really harmless. The only things they brutally murd- I mean eat are annoying household insects if they are in your house, or pretty much any insect they find in the wild.

So, who wants nightmares? If you want nightmares or want to be creeped out....scroll down! If not...well...uhm click away?





See that? See those eyes?? They stare into your soul.....Just imagine this hairy bugger racing up your arm onto your neck....mmmmmm >

Well I hope you enjoyed this blog post! Especially you Icy! Happy birthday! As for me....I really need to get back to work.

Simon Out!