THE COMPLETE STORY OF THIS CRAB-SPIDER UNTIL THE TORPOR OF HIBERNATION.

I saw this pale pink Crab Spider in my garden in August - 23th on the Mentha piperita flowers.
It is a female (Thomisus onustus), the male is dark brown and yellow, and smaller.
One day later, she started to join two flowers, in order to make a kind of arch.
Two days more and she is building the nest with dry Mint-flowers and webs.
During the following days, she suffered visits by Hymenopterae.
First, a kind of wasp, and the second was a Scolia (Scolia hirta), one of the largest European wasps.
Fortunately, nothing happened, and the Crab-Spider is still building her nest.
Finally, the nest is built three days after arriving in my garden.
Now, she is guarding the nest, feeding on insects several times a day.

And some days later, August - 31st, a yellow Crab-Spider female (Misumena vatia) visited her.
Any dispute, but the yellow spider reached the lower level, using the web.
This one is now established on the flower just below the nest, and today, in September, she is still there.
She catches numerous insects, and this afternoon, she caught a Geranium Bronze, a small butterfly feeding on nectar on the same flower.

These spiders kill their preys after catching them with the two pairs of long legs.
When the Crab-Spider is waiting for preys, we can see her with these long legs wide open, ready to capture the insects coming close to her.

During the autumn, the nest will fall down to the ground while the host-plant will dry little by little.
The eggs will spend the winter on the leaf litter.
The female’s lifespan would be about height months.
Actually, the eggs ensure the continuity of the species from one season to the other.
This Crab-Spider species is common in our gardens.
To be continued...

PLEASE, USE THE SLIDESHOW. IT IS EASIER!

Here is the territory of these crab-spiders