First the frog, because this is Frog Blog. Walking past Tiny Pond yesterday, I noticed a flurry of activity. My presence had disturbed a large frog who then spent several seconds thrashing about in the water frantically looking for a suitable hiding spot. Rejecting obvious shady options, it opted for the relative seclusion of the new plant, Water Crowfoot (ranunculus aquatilis), and remained transfixed in a standing position for several minutes. Counter-productive really, because the comedy pose drew my attention for a photo shoot and if it hadn’t started dashing about the pond, I wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
Later in the day when I checked again, the same frog (I think) seemed much more relaxed.
But this post isn’t really about frogs and frog behaviour (it was going to be), because I found something magical this morning to share with you. A flower crab spider.
The Flower Crab Spider’s scientific name is Misumena vatia
According to the Wildlife Trusts website, the flower crab spider is one of 27 species of crab spider. Not as common as other types, it can be seen in the UK between May and August and is most often seen in the south of the UK, so I feel lucky to have spotted this one in the Midlands. Females can alter the colour of their body to match the surroundings and to hide from prey. An interesting feature is that they don’t spin webs. Instead they hide among foliage, stretching out their legs to catch passing prey such as bees, moths and other visiting insects. This is exactly what my flower crab spider was doing.
And here’s a clip of it at work navigating an iris flower.
on an iris flower
FROG BLOG 