crab spider
Flower-lurking ambusher
Crab spiders are a family of spiders that resemble crabs in shape and movement—they have flattened bodies, legs that extend sideways, and can walk in any direction.
Most are ambush predators that wait motionless on flowers or leaves, often matching their color to catch pollinating insects.
A crab spider sat camouflaged in the petals, waiting for a bee.
Colored bloom segments
- pollinationFlower reproductive transfer
- nectarFloral sugar water
- goldenrodYellow wildflower, often blamed
- daisySmall white-petaled bloom
ambush · bee · butterfly · wasp · hoverfly · garden · meadow · wildflower
Act of hiding something
- blendCombine into mixture
- ambush predatorHunter that strikes from concealment
- color-changingAble to shift hue
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
stealth · pigment · ultraviolet · yellow · white · pink · hidden · undetectable
Fused cranial-trunk section
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- predatorOrganism that consumes others
- venomInjected animal poison
abdomen · invertebrate · arachnology · spinnerets · silk · fangs · molting · book lungs
petals
Colored bloom segments
- pollinationFlower reproductive transfer
- nectarFloral sugar water
- goldenrodYellow wildflower, often blamed
daisy · ambush · bee · butterfly · wasp · hoverfly · garden · meadow · wildflower · blossom
concealment
Act of hiding something
- blendCombine into mixture
- ambush predatorHunter that strikes from concealment
- color-changingAble to shift hue
adaptation · stealth · pigment · ultraviolet · yellow · white · pink · hidden · undetectable · waiting
cephalothorax
Fused cranial-trunk section
- exoskeletonExternal skeletal structure
- arthropodJointed-limb invertebrate phylum
- predatorOrganism that consumes others
venom · abdomen · invertebrate · arachnology · spinnerets · silk · fangs · molting · book lungs · prey
- arachnidsarachnid, scorpion, scorpions, tick, ticks
- spidershuntsman, tarantula, web, tarantulas, black widows
- ambush predatorscrocodile, alligator, anglerfish, praying mantis, antlion
- predatory invertebratespraying mantis, mantis, dragonfly, assassin bug, ground beetle
- crab spiders
- camouflage insectsstick insect, leaf insect, walking stick, katydid, bark beetle
crab spiderfunnel web spider
Toxic burrowing arachnid
wolf spider · jumping spider · huntsman spider · black widow · cellar spider
crab, spider, crabby, crabs, spiders, spiderweb, crabbed, spidery, crabbiness