Spider of the day:

Yesterday after lunch I went out prowling the father figure's yard looking for pointless photo opportunities, as I generally do on a Saturday afternoon. This year's making it a little tricky since everything's so dry, but I got a few shots that will likely end up as blog fodder sometime in the next few days.

I also found some spiders, so today's officially turned into Let's Feature a Spider Day.

I won't say by popular demand, since I'm probably the only one who likes these pictures. Too bad. My house, my rules.

So.

Our featured spider of the day is the Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia), which is a member of the Crab Spider (Thomisidae) family. The Crab Spider family got its name largely because of the crab-like movements of these species.

Crab spiders are ambush hunters and depend on camouflage to hide from their prey rather than using a web to trap it in. The Goldenrod Spider, also known as the Flower Spider, is a bit unusual because it's capable of changing its colour from white to yellow to better camouflage in whatever flower it's hiding in. The colour change apparently takes a day or two. I've never seen it in action myself.

If you're interested in finding Goldenrod Spiders (and really. Who isn't?), one of the best ways is to look for flowers that have bees or wasps in them that aren't moving. "Aren't moving" is a pretty good hint that an insect has met its match and is currently being eaten by a hidden spider like the one in the top photo (click on the photo to make it bigger. You'll see the spider's legs).

The middle photo shows a Goldenrod Spider that I found on a different flower (gee, no kidding?). She was just done with her lunch and was pushing the carcass out of the rose. Because of that you don't get to see her characteristic hunting posture, which is to spread her two front pairs of legs wide, ready to grab any unsuspecting insect that flies towards her hiding place.

Speaking of hiding, I was hoping to get some more pictures of this particular spider but she was more than a bit camera-shy and it turned into a pretty bizarre game of hide and seek as she kept moving around the stem to get away from the lens. The last photo was, unfortunately, the best one that I got. I'm sure you all wanted to see the underside of a Goldenrod Spider, right?

Oh, and if anyone's wondering why I keep saying "she"... well, both of these spiders are female. The males are much smaller and have different colouring. To the point where they really look like different species.

Want to see more of my Goldenrod Spider photos? I just knew you did! I'll link to some of the other ones I've posted over the years, then: here (a sketch) and here and here and here and here and here and... oh yeah, if you click on my profile on the sidebar I believe my current avatar is also a Goldenrod Spider.

What can I say? I like Goldenrod Spiders.

Bet you couldn't have guessed.





And thus endeth the lesson. See you later.