White Flower Spider

Today I went into the garden looking for something macho to blip. Not just another flower or plant but something exciting and different. I ended up with a very aggressive little Flower Spider of the white variety. Perfectly camouflaged on the white petals of a daisy. He hated having a camera lens poked (almost) in his face!

Flower spiders (Diaea species) belong to the Family Thomisidae, one of the most colourful and attractive spider families. Despite the fact they are common throughout much of southern and eastern Australia, they are often so well camouflaged that you can easily miss seeing them.

This same spider is also known as the Crab Spider, more menacing in LARGE.

These spiders have short, unequal legs and a wide, more or less short fat abdomen. They are usually small in size (males smaller than females) and their two front pairs of legs are much heavier, longer and strongly spined than the hind pairs of legs. All four pairs of legs curve forward in a crab-like fashion, giving the group their other common name, Crab Spiders.

Flower spiders depend on their camouflage and ability to keep still both for protection and to catch their prey. They use a sit-and-wait strategy for catching food. Prey animals, notably honey bees, butterflies, flies and beetles, are grabbed by the spiders' spiny front legs and immediately bitten on the head area.

The venom acts quickly to subdue the prey, which is eaten at once. Venom and digestive juices liquefy the insect's internal tissues, which the spider sucks up like a "protein shake", leaving an empty but life-like husk.