Science Forums 2

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Mercedes Benzene

Not a problem. I've had a *thing* for caterpillars and butterflies/moths since we raised them in 2nd grade, so I'm always happy to help!

so your id came in handy again today when Racoon & I climbed Green Mountain & we saw a Cinnabar moth flying around. took me 4+ minutes of stammering to finally remember & spit out the name, but out it came.

more kudos to Racoon for taking a closer look at some white Foxglove & finding a deadly hunter therein. just pinned the id with roomy Ace's help, and found it is a Flower Spider, a specialized type of Crab Spider. clearly this one was better camoflauged in a white Foxglove rather than the purple ones. the bee it is sucking dry is easily 4 or 5 times the size of the spider.

here's some info, then the pictos.

Crab Spider: pictures, information, classification and more

Flower spiders, a particular type of crab spider, rest on flowers and remain motionless for long periods of time with their front two pairs of legs extended in readiness. They ambush butterflies, bees, flies, and other flower visitors; their venoms enable them to successfully attack insects much larger than themselves. They do not wrap their prey in silk after biting, but instead remain with the immobilized prey until they have sucked it dry. ...