Crematogaster Ant mimic Spider

Myrmarachne

Description:

I saw a small strawberry sized Crematogaster Ant nest on a Curry Leaf sapling. I was observing it when from the corner of my eye I spotted two Crematogaster Ants on a nearby Indian Borage plant. I thought of getting the close-ups of those Crematogaster Ants on that nice green leaf and was approaching it when one of the ants quickly fled and hid under the leaf, while the other ant went about its business without a care in the world. When I flipped the leaf I learnt about the true identity of this creature. It was a female Crematogaster Ant mimic jumping Spider!! A perfect copy of the Ant in every way. I thought of not going for the close-ups and just observed the interaction. The Spider would behave just like the ant in terms of movement and behavior. The Spider would try to approach the ant hesitantly but when the Ant came too close It would quickly get away from it. This continued for a while when the spider decided to move on and jumped onto a nearby twig and just kept going deeper into the bushes. Meanwhile I managed to get both of them in a single frame :-) Looking at their size, I guess this Spider doesn't feed on Crematogaster Ants. Maybe this is a Batesian mimicry? I request the experts to shed some light on this. The close-ups will be posted soon. Few more shots here: http://thewesternghats.indiabiodiversity...