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Posts Tagged: predator
What's on the Menu for a Mantis?
A green bottle fly lands on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. Houston, we have landed! The fly, Lucilia sericata, begins to sip the nectar, unaware that a hungry praying mantis, a...
A green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) forages on milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 20 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, sneaks closer to its prey, an unsuspecting green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In a split second, the praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, nails its prey, an unsuspecting green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dinner is served: Fly à la carte. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tough Day for a Tettigoniid on a Tithonia
It was a tough day for a Tettigoniid on a Tithonia. When a katydid (Tettigoniid) encountered a crab spider on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in our garden, the katydid didn't last long. The spider administered a...
A crab spider administers a fatal bite on a katydid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The crab spider drags its prey to the edge of the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The crab spider, hidden from the world around it, consumes the katydid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Crab Spider and a Bee
Oh, the patience of a crab spider. It lies in wait on the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in the hot sun. It scuttles back and forth, extending its legs. It's an ambush predator, ready to inject venom. But it seems as if all the bees got the...
A crab spider on a Mexican sunflower is ready to ambush prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The crab spider scuttles back and forth. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, seeking nectar and pollen, lands on the Mexican sunflower, unaware of the predator. It quickly buzzed off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
No 'Assassination' Today!
No assassinations today! But an "assassination attempt." There it was, a leafhopper assassin bug, Zelus renardii, waiting for prey atop a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola in a Vacaville pollinator garden. Yes, it's native to...
An assassin bug, Zelus renardii,waits to ambush prey on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A longhorned bee arrives for some nectar while the assassin bug watches in apparent anticipation. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The longhorned bee leaves only its shadow behind. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This assassin bug had more luck--or better ambushing skills. It nails a pest, a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Spider, a Shadow, a Hello, and a Goodbye
Who doesn't love jumping spiders? They're adorable. No? Well, they are to arthropod enthusiasts, but not so much to their prey. This one (probably a Phidippus audax, a Bold Jumper) was moving slowly and unobtrusively up a shadowed Vacaville stucco...
Well, hello there! A jumping spider moves slowly and unobtrusively up a shadowed Vacaville wall on Jan. 2. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The jumping spider shows its colors. It's probably a Phidippus audax: the species is black with a distinct irregular orange to white spot on the back of its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
