Ant-Like Crab Spider (Amyciaea lineatipes )

[tchuanye]

Finally, able to shoot today at Labrador park! Been really busy for the past weeks! And also finally managed to find and shoot one of my most "wanted" list of insects! the Ant-Like Crab Spider!

Here is some info of this fella from Joseph Koh's "A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders".

"Classification: Family Thomisidae, Crab Spiders
Habitat: Foliage in gardens and secondary jungles where the familiar Kerengga ants can be found.
Female: 6-7 mm.
Distribution: Singapore, Indonesia.

The abdomen imitates the head of the familiar "Kerengga" ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) with the two dark dots simulating the ant's eyes.

The cephalothorax is exaggeratedly arched, giving the impression that it is the abdomen of the ant. The first two pairs of legs are often jerkily held up and down while the spider moves about in an advance-and-halt fashion. It feeds on Kerengga ants at night. On seeing an ant, it pounces on the ant. While holding the ant in its jaws and anchoring itself with a safety line of silk, it falls with the ant. The silken safety line allows the spider to remain suspended in mid-air where the ant has no chance to mount a counter-attack. The ant soon ceases its futile struggle when the venom takes effect.

Crab spiders move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them. The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey."

Here are the pics!

FZ10+Raynox 250, ISO50, F8, 1/60-1/100s, 2 diffused ext flash, handheld.

Introducing......
#1:The Ant-Like Crab Spider


#2:See my flat face!.....


#3:...and my butt.....Those 'eyes' makes me look like an ant!


#4: And because of my deception, I can get my prey....


#5: ...flies will also share with me...

[tchuanye]

#6:...and one more little fly coming from under the leaf....


#7:..anyway, I don't care, and I bite my prey at the leg....


#8: And when I am finished, I can present the carcass to you...


#9:....or throw it over the side....


#10: When finished....I go hunting again....and my pose here is typical of a crab spider!

[tchuanye]

#11: Er...of course, we are not always successful in getting prey....see my "Half" friend here? Something must have happen to it.....

[sumball]

I miss your posts so much!!!

You did not let me down once again.

[wong1979]

great quality shots with useful info as well. thx for sharing

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by sumball I miss your posts so much!!! You did not let me down once again.

Originally Posted by wong1979 great quality shots with useful info as well. thx for sharing

Thanks guys for the encouraging comments! Walk thru the jungle and could not find much insects ...saw this fella next to the playground there!

[DeSwitch]

Good shots. Its tiny and not easy to shoot (moves ard too much) I found some at SBG.

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by DeSwitch Good shots. Its tiny and not easy to shoot (moves ard too much) I found some at SBG.

yah, it does move when it does not have prey, but is quite still with ant in its mouth!

I have only seen this at Kent ridge park and labrador park.....

[sprintist]

wooo...cool and interesting narrating, it looks scary to me though, don't like to stare at it too long..makes my hair stand. haha glad i'm so much bigger in size that i won't be its prey haha

[eAgles]

Nice! The spider looks like a robot.

[Allan Teo]

#4 is very very good, FULL DOF on the spider and this matches
your description of its behaviour very well..

It would be nice in your series to provide an indication
against a common item (5 cent coin) as to how big this
spider is.

Excellent Photo
Allan

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by sprintist wooo...cool and interesting narrating, it looks scary to me though, don't like to stare at it too long..makes my hair stand. haha glad i'm so much bigger in size that i won't be its prey haha

Yep, its small, but sure is greatly designed to deceive the prey!

Originally Posted by eAgles Nice! The spider looks like a robot.

Thks!

Originally Posted by Allan Teo #4 is very very good, FULL DOF on the spider and this matches your description of its behaviour very well.. It would be nice in your series to provide an indication against a common item (5 cent coin) as to how big this spider is. Excellent Photo Allan

Ha ha....well, if it stopped moving around, perhaps I could! thks!

[Mendis]

Greats shots bro! Wonder when we can shoot together man.. never been able to meet up!

Btw, I would like to commend you on your processing skills! I have seen many using prosumers and their processing is never as natural and fine as yours. Of course, Bro Melvyn is also tops on this!

[scenar]

fantastic stuff as always. very nice!!

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by Mendis Greats shots bro! Wonder when we can shoot together man.. never been able to meet up! Btw, I would like to commend you on your processing skills! I have seen many using prosumers and their processing is never as natural and fine as yours. Of course, Bro Melvyn is also tops on this!

Thanks! Well, nowadays kind of adhoc, and shoot during family outings. Been busy with work...

Actually, processing tip came from you! Create layer, USM background and erase top layer to sharpen critical areas.

Originally Posted by scenar fantastic stuff as always. very nice!!

Thanks!

[petersan]

Another excellent series!

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by petersan Another excellent series!

Thanks Peter! I also visit your site often to check your latest spider photo collection, and I am NEVER disappointed! Those pics are top notch!

[Wisdomworld]

AMAZING SHOTS!

[scenic98]

very interesting. are those 4 black dots on it's head it's eyes.....wow.

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by Wisdomworld AMAZING SHOTS!

Originally Posted by scenic98 very interesting. are those 4 black dots on it's head it's eyes.....wow.

Thanks!

It has a total of 8 eyes on the head.