| Dereila Nature Inn Home > Woodlands Pathway > The Bug World > The Secret World of Spiders |
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Those Creepy Crawlies...the Secret World of Spiders - Part 1 |
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WARNING! This page contains images that some may deem as ugly, gross and out-right scary! Some people love 'em, others hate 'em and some just don't want to know about 'em - yet. Since this site is to cover as many aspects of nature as possible, we've included a little introduction to the secret world of these little garden residents and their hunting techniques.
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We all know that some spiders make webs and catch their prey - but not all. Other spiders hunt using different methods: stalking and jumping.
The Stalkers
A successful human stalker, perhaps out stalking animals to photograph, may don camouflage of various colours to hide or blend in with the surroundings. However, stalking spiders can't do this and so some can change colours to suit the flower of choice. The images on this page are of Goldenrod spiders Misumena vati, known for its ability to change its colour from white to yellow. |
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Notice how the spider on the left is white, red and green, blending in with the flower it is on. This is a very effective method of hunting as the spider can sneak up on bees pollinating the flower. |
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| Sometimes, the opposite seems to be true as these bees were readily caught in this lavender, by a rather un-camouflaged stalker. |
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