Crab spiders (Thomisidae) are ambush hunters, spending most of their time
waiting motionless for invertebrate prey to come within reach. When they do
strike, they simply grasp their prey with their front two pairs of legs and
pull it toward their fangs. Their venom appears to be very fast acting as they
have the ability to subdue animals many times their own weight and do so
quickly with a minimum of fuss. While filming crab spiders in
Costa
Rica in 2011 we shot multiple sequences with
of them capturing beetles. Each time the beetle were captured they would
shudder and die within seconds. Given that these spiders are often much smaller
than their prey, and do not use silk to assist them, having a venom which if
fast acting is a necessity.
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This tiny crab spider (possibly a juvenile Thomisus spectabilis) was photographed last night in our yard. It has captured a much larger katydid (Caedicia sp.)
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| A cryptic crab spider (Stephanopis sp.) at Cape Tribulation with large prey – this time a Phricta spinosa nymph. |
