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Not to be confused with Spider Crabs.

Spiders and crabs are related, so it's no surprise that there is a creature called the crab spider. These spiders grab prey with their crab-like "claws" an inject victims with venom that acts so fast they can rarely put up a fight before they're dead. These webless spiders like to lurk on the ground or in a bed of flowers. They can change the color of their exoskeleton to blend in with their habitat, so victims don't see what's about to hit them.

Crab Legs: Crab spiders got their name from their habit of grabbing prey with their front legs, using them like a set of pincers. The spiders sometimes walk sideways, like crabs; and the top of the spiders' exoskeletons are hard and triangular, like the shell of a crab.

Slow Change: Crab spiders seem to have learned something from chameleons. Some species can alter the pigment of their exoskeletons to match the color of their surroundings. Unlike the lizards, though, this color change takes one or two days to complete.

Good to the Last Slurp[]

Crab Spiders Back Image

A big cicada makes a super-size meal for this little spider.

Crab spiders are among the smallest spiders in the world, but they can tackle prey that are many times bigger than they are. Using small fangs and a strong grip, crab spiders bite victims, such as bees and cicadas, just behind the head. The spiders' fast-acting venom paralyzes victims before they can struggle free from their captors. Once their meals are immobile, the spiders flood their victims with digestive juices that liquefy their bodies. It can take crab spiders up to an hour to suck a large insect's body dry.

Still Life: When hunting, crab spiders usually perch on a leaf or a flower and wait. These creatures can sit for days without moving a muscle. When an insect comes within range, the spiders can attack in a split second.

Tied Up: Most male crab spiders are several times smaller than the females. When a male wants to mate, he ties her legs down with strands of silk so she can't capture him and eat him while he's fertilizing her eggs.

Flower Power[]

  1. A female crab spider waits in ambush on a buttercup, and changes its color to yellow so it matches the flower's petals. When no insects come along for a while, the spider moves over to the next flower, a white daisy.
  2. After a day on the daisy, the crab spider drains the pigment from her exoskeleton to appear white. Not long after, a bee flies in, not even noticing the camouflaged hunter. In a flash, the spider grabs the bee and bites, paralyzing the bee almost instantly.

Trivia[]

  • The crab spider featured in “Flower Power” is likely a goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia).
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