Thursday, August 8, 2013

on Finding Crab Spiders

I've been under the weather lately and work is killing me. Anyhow, I found some time to blog since tomorrow is a holiday. This post is long overdue.

It's been a long time since I started doing macro work and people often ask me this question: "how on earth do you find these spiders?"

crab (1 of 2)
 perfectly camouflaged in its surroundings and waiting for passing prey...

I've learned a lot about how to track spiders and where the most promising spots are in our little garden. Since I specialize in Jumping Spiders, I tend to go to spots where there are big leaves as they like to hang out there. But the most sure fire way to track them down is look for the food source. Where there are flying and crawling insects, you will surely find a spider nearby.

crab (2 of 2)
 front view of this Crab Spider...

This curious little critter is what we commonly call a Crab Spider since its stance is similar to that of a crab. They tend to be well camouflaged and according to my research can change color after a few days of being in the same spot. I've seen greens, yellows and brown colored ones in the past. This particular one is somewhat orange as I found it on dried up leaves and flowers. They are really hard to spot since they do not move and are well hidden. They are ambush predators and wait for days on end to catch prey.

green crab spider
 old photo of a Green Crab Spider...

I think I am lucky to have spotted and photographed this specie as it is very hard to find one in the confines of our small garden. I am hoping that by exploring other areas, I'd find some more of them in the future. And since tomorrow is a holiday, I'll make it a point to go shoot macro.