Monday, 22 July 2013

Crab spider stalking fly

I spotted this crab spider in my local wildlife garden, it had this strange clock-work movement and grabbed my attention. Then I spotted the fly. The crab spider, a female Xysticus cristatus, legs outstretched, on the left of the photo. The large fly is on the right, having fed or drank from the base of a teasel leaf. If you want to know what happened next see this video.

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6 comments:

  1. biobabbler23 July 2013 at 15:37

    Ah, the life of a predator. Try, try again. =)

    I should probably post a photo (still images) series I got of a crab spider (SO one of my fav. animals) HOPING a fly would wander too near...

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  2. Suffolk Nature30 July 2013 at 11:45

    The suspense was killing me. The siren in the background made it even more intense. Great footage of something rarely seen. If you don't mind, I would like to post a link to this from my blog. Excellent stuff. :)

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  3. Anonymous30 July 2013 at 19:23

    Ha! Was it a robber fly fleeing the police? Great video, patience and a steady hand needed. Cool bit of observation as well! Thanks for sharing. Just found your web site and I know I will like it already. Right up my street. Can't wait to see what else I can find. Thank you again for sharing this and your website a refreshing change from most academics I know.

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  4. Anonymous30 July 2013 at 19:47

    great video. I was actually disappointed we didn't see a successful spider, I had the volume off but could imagine the Jaws music to that. :)

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  5. Africa Gomez30 July 2013 at 20:25

    Thank you Suffolk Nature, I count myself lucky having witnessed it!

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  6. conall16 October 2015 at 22:59

    i enjoyed that video!

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