Thomisus onustus spider with prey

Description:

Thomisus onustus crab spider with prey (a Long-tailed blue butterfly- Lampides boeticus). ike other species of the family Thomisidae these crab spiders do not make a web, but actively pursue their preys. They usually wait for preys positioned for hunting on flowers. The spiders are disguised by assuming the same colour as the flower, fooling both insect and bird predators. The prey consists of flower-visiting insects of all species, such as hover flies, bees, wasps, butterflies or beetles, which are often several times larger than the spider. They take their preys with two powerful and highly enlarged front leg pairs and usually kill them by biting on the back of their neck. Emerging spiderlings of Thomisus onustus may feed on pollen or nectar when insect preys are lacking. The spider with its prey, was spotted in a prairie, in Tzoumerka mountains, Epirus region, Greece.