Crab spider  (Misumena vatia)

Biology

This species does not spin a web to catch its prey. Instead it lies in wait on flowers and vegetation for a suitable prey species to visit and swiftly ambushes the insect (2) (3). It then injects venom into the prey with the slender fangs (3).

Males deposit a drop of sperm which is taken up by specialised leg-like appendages known as ‘palps’. During copulation, the sperm is passed to the female’s reproductive organ (the ‘epigyne’). After mating, the female lays the eggs, folds a leaf over them and spins a protective silk cocoon around the folded leaf. She will then cease to feed and stands guard over the eggs for around three weeks, after which the eggs hatch and the female dies (3).

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