Bird-Dung Crab Spider

[tchuanye]

Got a few +1 today, and finally found the Bird dung Crab Spider!

From JK spider website:
"Bird-Dung Crab Spider
Phrynarachne sp.
Classification: Family Thomisidae, Crab Spiders

The blobs and warts over the thick and somewhat glazed body surface give the "wet" and "lumpy" look of a piece of fresh bird excrement. The spider reinforces the simulation of bird-droppings by drawing its legs close to the body and lying motionless on a leaf for long hours. It sometimes sits on a small patch of white silk, which can be mistaken for the white stain caused by the bird-dung when it is splashed on the leaf. Some Phyrnarachne spiders emit a pronounced smell of faeces or urine. The sight and smell of bird-dropping may be a clever device to attract and ambush flies. 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."


FZ30+Raynox 250, F11, various speeds, ISO80, 2 diffused flash, handheld

#1: Top view


#2: Another top view


#3: Front view (stacked 4 pics)


#4: Pic of the rear for record.

[loboclerk]

Interesting! #3 looks great! Was it motionless throughout? Had difficulty stacking more than 3 images coz the critters couldn't keep still. :P

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by loboclerk Interesting! #3 looks great! Was it motionless throughout? Had difficulty stacking more than 3 images coz the critters couldn't keep still. :P

Yeh...for its camo to work, it need to keep still. So was montionless most of the time.

[benetay]

Congrats on the +1 for a rare spider. Very nicely taken!

Luckily it doesn't have wings to fly away while you claim your +1

Cheers!

[nyxx88]

ooo... nice one!! would love to shoot one too

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by benetay Congrats on the +1 for a rare spider. Very nicely taken! Luckily it doesn't have wings to fly away while you claim your +1 Cheers!

Originally Posted by nyxx88 ooo... nice one!! would love to shoot one too

Thanks!

[ex0rzist]

Hi tchuanye, would you mind sharing where you captured this subject ? Beautiful capture ! Congrats on your +1

[tchuanye]

Originally Posted by ex0rzist Hi tchuanye, would you mind sharing where you captured this subject ? Beautiful capture ! Congrats on your +1

Taken at Zheng Hua park, off segar road.

[shunzi]

ohh nice really lucky to get a shot on a rare type.

[tchuanye]

Thanks! its always nice to capture some rarely seen subjects!