20 June 2007

Wordless Wednesday - Crab Spider on guard again


This week's Wordless Wednesday entry is another crab spider (Misumena vatia) is frequently seen in the garden (if you notice them that is). They don't spin a web but lie in wait in flowers looking to catch an insect by surprise. They may look fearsome but they are less than half an inch long (about 1cm). Regular visitors to the blog will realise that I have a fondness for this arachnid

64 comments:

Alison said...

Beautiful picture Jams, just don't spoil it for me with the spider ;-)

Anonymous said...

:-O

Evil looking creature....I'd drop dead if one of those crawled onto me....

Anonymous said...

I've never seen one of these up north. Are they just restricted to the south of England?

jams o donnell said...

For some reason I think they look quite sweet!

Roger the distribution seems to end on a line from Aberystwyth to norther Lincs. We seem to get a lot of them in the garden

Kristen said...

EEEEEEEEE!!! Spiders are one of my "phobias"!! Yikes! You're brave to get that close. Great pic nonetheless.

Thanks for stopping by my WW~

Anonymous said...

wow--Is that a flower that the spider is on? Beautiful color and vibrancy!!

Unknown said...

Great shot and interesting facts!

Melanie said...

Interesting information! I absolutely hate spiders!! But, the pictures are still beautiful.

Jenn in Holland said...

Always so impressed with your photography. I share your affinity for spiders...

Anonymous said...

Awesome photo! They do look fearsome though!

jams o donnell said...

THanks all. In reality it is a very small spider. It will huirt a fly but it is more scared of us than we are of it!

Lisa said...

Beautiful picture. The colour and the detail is excellent. He certainly looks ready to pounce. Happy WW.

letha said...

Oh wow, that is the first spider picture that has not had me cringing and instead looking.

karly said...

Yes, you have a fondness for this crab spider and a great ability to capture it's natural state. Great photo!

Henry Walloon said...

Great picture.

Pleased to meet a fellow spide blogger.

EHT said...

Well no wonder you post about them often....they are kinda neat looking!

Great pics

Kellyology said...

WOW! Those are just fantastic shots!

jams o donnell said...

Thanks for you kind words all!

Mz Jackson said...

If his legs weren't so long he would look like a tic! Beautiful rose by the way.

MammaMayMiller said...

Amazing close-up shots!! Although that spider looks MEAN...
Cheers for popping by!

The World In The Eyes Of Brothers said...

Beautiful pictures.

Le Butterfly said...

Excellent photography !

Sandee said...

I don't like critters like this. They make me scratch and feel like things are crawling on me. Gotta go now. Happy WW. :)

Katya said...

Hmmm. Tisn't big, black, OR hairy. So, I guess it looks like a relatively harmless sort! I really don't care for spiders, but this one really is kind of...err..*unique*!

maiylah said...

wonderful macro shot! i think i only saw one of these once .... would love to see one again! :)
happy WW

Pearls of Wisdom said...

Thanks for sharing Jams cool picture. I love the colors of the flower.

Have a great week!

Angel Mama ():)

Anonymous said...

The flower is beautiful. I love the colors. The spider makes me shiver, but I do think it looks interesting...in a photo, wouldn't want to see one at my house. Great photo!

Anonymous said...

Awesome shot! Although he's a bit creepy :)

JHS said...

Great photography. I don't know why you like 'em, though.

Lavender said...

Great shot, well captured! Ive never forgiven those spiders since one scared me silly when I found it by popping my nose into a sweetpea blossom....eeek!
Happy WW, Ive got a Ringtail Lemur today.

Miscellaneous-Mum said...

I'm from the land of scary spiders, but that just freaks me out a little....!!

Linda said...

Beautiful detail but I'm not the big spider fan that you are, I'm afraid!

Cinnamon Girl said...

Really cool picture!

mama k said...

Great shot! What an interesting creature.

Happy WW!

Hanley Family said...

That is a gorgeous picture...thanks!

Qtpies7 said...

I'm seriously concidering STOPPING the visits to your blog! I'm no longer able to go to bed tonight or I'll have nightmares of albino spiders! UGH!!!!!!!
Weirdly enough, I posted a video of some weird bug that I can't identify. I'm only afraid of arachnids,though, so as long as noone tells me its a spider I'll be ok.

byoc said...

I share your love for spiders. I'm afraid I only watch them, and photograph them, but I don't really know much about them. I have seen small white spiders in my flowers, but they don't look like that. I hate to sweep down the webs on my porch. They are beautiful with dew glistening on them. My grandchildren think I'm a little wierd.

Maggie Moo said...

JAMS!

Wicked good shot. You're right-it does look scary...but she picked a pretty place to hide.

Happy WW!

Anonymous said...

Some amazing photography! Very well done...

jams o donnell said...

Thanks all. I know that spiders are not necessarily cute but they have a certain beauty for me.

Reba said...

GGGRRRRRR, ggggrrrrruuuufffff... Bark, Bark RUFFF

Ruffff, rufff, arf, bark.

*teeth barred, lips pulled back*

Translation: Stay away from me & my Mom... she's scared of spiders & I protect her. I bite them cuz they bite my Mom.

The Minute Man: Colin Chang said...

Wow. Sneaky little things arn't they. Happy WW!

Shaz said...

Sneaky, sneaky spider but I'd still jump if I saw him. Are you trying to scare me off visiting with all the spider pics? . . .lol x x x

SandyCarlson said...

Beautiful place to lie in wait!

Cat is my co-pilot said...

oooof--i no like spiders! to me their look is scary, scary, scary. although i won't be a party to any spider killing and always get someone else to remove the spider from my bedroom so i may sleep soundly. :D spiders do a lot of good in this world, so i hear.

Lori said...

OMG...I hate spiders!!

Anonymous said...

Great pic, but EW!

I think I saw one of these on a recent walk, but couldn't get a decent pic of it - he was very good at hiding underneath the daisy he was "protecting" :)

Happy WW :) I hope you'll come visit mine.

MommyMommy said...

It really does look like a crab!

MommaBoo said...

Imagine one of those as big as a hippo! I would die!

Thanks for stopping by “OSOMOLOVE”.

Happy WW!

Melissa @ Banana Migraine said...

What an awesome picture!! I'll have to show this one to my son.

Angel The Alien said...

Never saw a crab spider before. Its sort of cute, up close! Do they pinch?

Sherry said...

Fantastic shot!

Cats~Goats~Quotes said...

Great photo! I like spiders, too.
Your blog is very interesting :)
Happy WW!
~Bobbie, Mom of The Bunch

Rene Perez said...

I love to take pictures of Banana Spiders. Your pictures of your spiders are great. I love to learn more about them. Thank you!

Angela said...

Beautiful photos and very intriguing spider:-).

the Book of Keira said...

The picture is lovely but the spider has given me a heart attack....lol.

Gaby said...

That is freaky looking, but awesome at the same time.

beakerkin said...

Jams

An action picture of the spider might be interesting.

In NYC we sometimes encounter Praying Mantis and that is a sight to behold. I have not seen one in VT. The Praying Mantis were protected at one point.

I haven't found an ant lion yet but they are up here.

Celeste said...

EEEK

jams o donnell said...

Thanks for visiting all, No spiders next week I promise!

Beakerkin, getting a spider in action would be great but I could be waiting for days or weeks to catch that. If I did see it I would definitely photograph it.

I've never actually seen a mantis in teh flesh. We dont get them here but they are wonderful looking insects

Pfingston said...

Thats one heck of a cool spider, not to mention beautifully hid!
Happy WW! (and thanks for stopping by my blog)
:-)

elasticwaistbandlady said...

You've posted many crab spider pictures and thus I've exhausted all my crab spider jokes. :( I guess I'll go with an old standby.

"Jams has crabs.......Jams has crabs!"

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Or should I say that your bush has crabs? Hmmmm, I'll have to mull that over.

jams o donnell said...

LOL Ewbl.. I look forward to your photographs of a beaver. It will be open season!!!