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Posts Tagged: crab spider
Celebrating the Crab Spider in Arachtober
It's Arachtober and that means celebrating arachnids for the entire month of October. Well, we ought to celebrate them year around, but October is THEIR month. Let's especially applaud crab spiders when they prey on such agricultural pests as the...
A crab spider eating a lygus bug, an agricultural pest in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Saga of the Spider and the Bee
(Continued from the July 13th Bug Squad) Our resident crab spider, family Thomisidae, appears to be an extremely poor hunter. She waits, camouflaged in the lavender patch, as bees buzz around her. They dart away when she lunges at...
The resident crab spider nails a honey bee, as another bee continues to forage in the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A freeloader fly (family Milichiidae, probably genus Desmometopa), invites itself to dinner. No reservations required. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As the resident crab spider eats its prey, another honey bee arrives to forage on the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Spider and the Bee
A crab spider, family Thomisidae, lies motionless in a patch of lavender, waiting to ambush a honey bee. So here I am, a crab spider, as hungry as can be Does anyone out there feel sorry for me? "Yes," say the...
A crab spider lies in wait, as a honey bee nectars on a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee takes flight, out of reach of the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
You missed me, Mr. Crab Spider. You missed me. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought
Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
Decisions, Decisions! The Katydid or the Bee?
So here's this crab spider stalking a katydid nymph foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Dinner awaits! Suddenly a native bee, Melissodes agilis, lands next to the katydid and begins to sip some nectar. Decisions, decisions! Do...
A crab spider is about to nail a katydid nymph when a longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, appears on the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, continues to forage under the watchful eye of the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The longhorned bee turns aways from the crab spider, still unaware of the danger. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The crab spider hauls the struggling katydid nymph over the side of the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
