Crab spider with lunch

[FujiS2]

beside ant, changeable lizard, we also hv this crab spider eating up the butts at AH...

They are very good predator, hiding in the middle of the flower & wait, if there is butt arrived then by no chance the butts can escape.

btw, I caught a changeable lizard last week but don't know what to do with it, at the end I release it. Shall I kill them or remove them to some others urban places?

[Garion]

Originally Posted by FujiS2 beside ant, changeable lizard, we also hv this crab spider eating up the butts at AH... They are very good predator, hiding in the middle of the flower & wait, if there is butt arrived then by no chance the butts can escape.

Good captures there. This bugger is really well camouflaged, you have sharp eyes to spot it. Thanks for sharing.

Quote: btw, I caught a changeable lizard last week but don't know what to do with it, at the end I release it. Shall I kill them or remove them to some others urban places?

Killing them is a big nono. As nature photographers, we should respect nature and not meddle with it. As some of the guys here have said before, "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints". The lizards have a part to play too in nature's cycle, and they are not the only predators of the butterflies (there are also spiders, birds etc.). Just leave them be.

[macross]

Woooh... Nice capture there.

Compare the sizes of the spider and its prey; the spider must be from the heavyweight category.

[FujiS2]

Originally Posted by Garion ... we should respect nature and not meddle with it... The lizards have a part to play too in nature's cycle...

fully agree that we should respect nature, but AH butts trail is man made, lizard considered as pest in this case?
if you breed butterfly in yr garden, do u want those lizard to come?

[Garion]

Originally Posted by FujiS2 fully agree that we should respect nature, but AH butts trail is man made, lizard considered as pest in this case? if you breed butterfly in yr garden, do u want those lizard to come?

Ok I get ur point. Maybe can approach the relevant authorities for help? I'm not sure if Papilio was one of the original consultants for the Trail, if he was, maybe he can comment on this matter?

[Sgt. Pepper]

Hi FujiS2,
I think there's something wrong with the WB.. This crab spider should be white in color.
Crab spider is one of the great insect predators, but I dont think it is strong enough to confine this size of Butt. The venom may not as instantaneous as we think. Or may be it just stumbled upon this dead Butt..

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by Garion Ok I get ur point. Maybe can approach the relevant authorities for help? I'm not sure if Papilio was one of the original consultants for the Trail, if he was, maybe he can comment on this matter?

Both you and FujiS2 have raised valid points. The site for the original butterfly trail was just a barren green piece of grassland without any other plants. There were no butts flying around. We planted all the various host plants and the butts "invited" themselves and we had a butterfly trail. Then the predators "invited" themselves to the easy food around. We were the catalyst of an eco-system and a food web, and everyone else just joined it. If the predators eat up all the butts and caterpillars, then there would be nothing for us to shoot.

The whole cycle will continue until there is a balance, or one of the members of the food web goes extinct in the area.

In any case, it's not easy to catch the Changeable Lizards anyway, and it lays more eggs than we can ever capture the adults. So getting rid of one or two won't make much difference. In Sentosa Butterfly Park, where it is a commercial venture, the caretaker catches and sometimes kills the lizards. Others he puts into the display cases as an exhibit for the visitors.

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by skyflash I think the Leopards have a pretty healthy population. Perhaps, the changable lizards are unable to reach the leaves where the catepillars are ? :P

There are probably two reasons for that. Firstly is that the Weeping Willow trees are rather flimsy and may not support the weight of the Changeable Lizard properly, and the leaves are so sparse that it affords very little hiding place for the lizard.

Secondly, if the lizard is too exposed, it becomes prey to its own predators, the larger birds in the area e.g. the owls. So it would rather lurk closer to the ground and thick bushes where it can hide and feed.

[vincentt_whale]

what is changeable lizard? is it the same as chameleon?

[Lion king]

Coincidentally I shot one too yesterday down at
my block...

[FujiS2]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Pepper Hi FujiS2, I think there's something wrong with the WB.. This crab spider should be white in color. Crab spider is one of the great insect predators, but I dont think it is strong enough to confine this size of Butt. The venom may not as instantaneous as we think. Or may be it just stumbled upon this dead Butt..

If I remember correctly, the spider is in yellow color, may be different species? I think the spider will hv problem camouflage & catch butts if in white color & the flower was in yellow/orange.

the butts was catch alive, coz i happen to see this butt struggling "under" the flower (normally stop on flower), then saw it. May it an old weak butts? ;P I myself also find it hard to believe such a small predator able to catch the big butts

[FujiS2]

Originally Posted by Papilio ... if the lizard is too exposed, it becomes prey to its own predators, the larger birds in the area e.g. the owls.

yup, I also saw 2 king fishers around that area & saw them catch the lizard once.

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by vincentt_whale what is changeable lizard? is it the same as chameleon?

You can read about it here

[Papilio]

Originally Posted by FujiS2 yup, I also saw 2 king fishers around that area & saw them catch the lizard once.

Originally Posted by FujiS2 If I remember correctly, the spider is in yellow color, may be different species? I think the spider will hv problem camouflage & catch butts if in white color & the flower was in yellow/orange.

You've got a good point there. Particularly if the background of flowers are all yellow/orange. Perhaps it can change colours!

[macross]

Read this a while ago, from 'How to Photograph Insects and Spiders' by Larry West with Julie Ridl:

...This white crab spider, commonly called a goldenrod spider, is a variety you'd typically find waiting for prey on white or yellow flowers. The creature can camouflage itself on flowers of these shades by turning yellow or white as needed to blend. Unlike spiders that catch their prey by using a web or running it down, crab spiders simply wait for something delicious to come by. ...

It looked like a different species (in Michigan), but I think the same thing applys.