Featured in collections
Featured in groupsSee All

Ant-Like Crab Spider
By melvynyeo
80 Favourites27 Comments3K Views
The abdomen imitates the head of the familiar "Kerengga" ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) with the two dark dots simulating the ant's eyes.
The cephalothorax is exaggeratedly arched, giving the impression that it is the abdomen of the ant.
The first two pairs of legs are often jerkily held up and down while the spider moves about in an advance-and-halt fashion.
It feeds on Kerengga ants at night. On seeing an ant, it pounces on the ant. While holding the ant in its jaws and anchoring itself with a safety line of silk, it falls with the ant. The silken safety line allows the spider to remain suspended in mid-air where the ant has no chance to mount a counter-attack. The ant soon ceases its futile struggle when the venom takes effect.
Crab spiders move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them. The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey.
Source [link]
The cephalothorax is exaggeratedly arched, giving the impression that it is the abdomen of the ant.
The first two pairs of legs are often jerkily held up and down while the spider moves about in an advance-and-halt fashion.
It feeds on Kerengga ants at night. On seeing an ant, it pounces on the ant. While holding the ant in its jaws and anchoring itself with a safety line of silk, it falls with the ant. The silken safety line allows the spider to remain suspended in mid-air where the ant has no chance to mount a counter-attack. The ant soon ceases its futile struggle when the venom takes effect.
Crab spiders move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them. The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey.
Source [link]
IMAGE DETAILS
Image size
960x640px 282.98 KB
Published:
© 2011 - 2021 melvynyeo
Comments27
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In