About crab spiders
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis
Crab spider on dandelion flower.
| Crab spider |
Krabiämblik
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Crab spiders are often seen in our nature and easily recognisable although there are 23 species of them around. For moving the two rear pairs of legs – that are shorter - are used. The two front pairs, longer and developed into gripping tools, are used for hunting. In addition these spiders move skilfully backwards and sideways – like crabs, and from that they have their name.
They can be seen during the whole summer. If you are interested you can study – in flowers or on a straw of grass – how the spiders, who don’t weave a net, sit motionlessly waiting for their prey, and how they then paralyze the victim with a poisonous bite.
The females of one species are able to change their colour: for instance when they hunt on a dandelion flower they turn yellowish green, or white on an ox-eye daisy. The change takes two or three days, it doesn’t occur at once.
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