Congratulations, you survived! (A Father's Day sentiment)

For crab spiders, becoming a father is a perilous endeavor that involves a lengthy search culminating in a cautious approach to an uncertain ending. While on a walk this Father's Day, I spotted a would-be father that had been insufficiently cautious.

A female Mecaphesa sp. crab spider eating a male.

Whether or not that male crab spider had succeeded in becoming a father, it had succeeded in becoming a meal and was indirectly nourishing a new generation of crab spiders.

A spiderling on another flower.

So, even if human fatherhood has its trials, be glad you aren't a crab spider.