Sometimes I find that I am not alone in my search for female crab spiders. Male crab spiders are also roaming from flower to flower to find the ones where females sit in ambush. In fact, twice --that I noticed-- male
Misumena vatia climbed up onto me, as if they also recognized our common goal. (To put it mildly, I do not appreciate this behavior; nevertheless, I did manage to remove the spiders gently in both cases.)
Like females, male crab spiders will hunt on flowers (
see this post). However, when seeking out a mate, male crab spiders may no longer be a threat to other flower visitors. The male
Misumena vatia in the pictures below stepped right over a foraging bee and continued on its way.
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| A male Misumena vatia walks right over a small bee. |
In contrast, female crab spiders are unlikely to pass up a chance for a meal -- even if that meal is the male who just came to mate.
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| A female Mecaphesa sp. eats what looks like a male Mecaphesa sp. |
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