White-banded Crab Spider Eating a Bee

I got an ID on an older picture today, and to celebrate I'm sharing it. This has been identified as a White-banded Crab Spider. I had assumed it was a Goldenrod Crab Spider, mostly because it looked like a yellow crab spider that was lurking amongst the goldenrods. I don't feel too badly about my misidentification:
  • My spider field guide says they look similar. A white/pale band across the face of the White-banded Crab Spider is considered to be the biggest difference between the 2 species, and I didn't exactly get an unobstructed view of the head of the spider.
  • Although both are considered good-sized by the standards of our crab spiders, they're still pretty small. A big female is still under a half inch, and a big male is a third of that. It's kind of hard to see details on any animal this small.
I'm pretty sure the unlucky prey is a Western Honeybee. The bee no doubt failed to see a yellow spider hiding in the yellow flowers, a mistake that proved fatal to her. Though I assume a bee sting would be fatal to the spider, the spider's got to take some chances to eat; this time that chance entailed ambushing a bee. (Butterflies are presumably safer prey.)

Both the White-banded Crab Spider and the Goldenrod Crab Spider are considered ambush predators. They hide someplace appealing to insects and wait for the unwary to stop by. 

September 13, 2020 at Negri Nepote Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 96536198, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

September 13, 2020 at Negri Nepote Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 96536184, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Image
Some caterpillars are usually seen in large numbers (like Armyworm Moth caterpillars and Eastern Tent Caterpillars ), while most are more solitary. The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (more about them are here ) seem to be slightly social. I'll sometimes see them alone, but more often I'll see them in groups of 2-9 members. In the 1st picture below, you can see there is a clear size difference in some of these individuals. I'm almost certain the little one in the middle is in an earlier instar than the others (though they lack the colorful tufts of fuzz in their earliest instars). August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477945, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) In the picture below, it's clear that these caterpillars don't require a lot of personal space. August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477979, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Image
I believe this caterpillar to be a Copper Underwing [1]. At least the coloring and the dorsal hump (near the left end of the caterpillar) seem consistent with the Copper Underwing. These caterpillars are not what you'd consider picky eaters; my Caterpillars of Eastern North America describes their diet thusly: Many wooded plants including apple, basswood, blueberry, cherry chestnut, current, grape, greenbrier, hawthorn, hickory, lilac, maple, oak, poplar, raspberry, rhododendron, viburnum, Virginia creeper, and walnut. Wikipedia adds: Ash, privet, honeysuckle, rose, and service trees. That's a pretty wide range of trees and shrubs. One of the challenges of finding them is that they could be almost anywhere; the other challenges are: Their green coloring blends in pretty darned well with the average leaf. They have a habit of feeding underneath leaves, so they're probably not visible when looking down at their location. They have a tendency to move from leaf-to-leaf; if you
Read more

Eastern Pondhawks

Image
I'm going to try something different today with my Eastern Pondhawk pictures. I'm going to let ChatGPT do my blog today. (ChatGPT is an AI program that you can converse with in a pretty human way; an explanation of it is here .) Me:  Can you tell me something interesting about the Eastern Pondhawk? ChatGPT:  The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a dragonfly species that is native to North America. It is a medium-sized dragonfly, with a wingspan of about 3 inches, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, marshes, and ponds. One interesting characteristic of the Eastern Pondhawk is its mating behavior. Male Eastern Pondhawks are known for their territorial behavior and will defend their territory from other males. They will patrol their territory and will try to mate with any females that fly into their territory. Another interesting fact about the Eastern Pondhawk is that it is a fast flyer and is able to hover in midair. It is also an import
Read more