Rare event - Crab spider caught fly in web!

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Aug 8, 2018
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Xysticus crab spiders are hunters. They either just grab random insects that walk into them on the ground, or they sneak up on them. Sometimes they sit on flowers because - nah, I don't have to explain that. I have seen crab spiders checking out abandoned webs made by other spiders (Jumping spiders do that too sometimes), but they don't build webs themselves. Normally.

My Mr. Crabs has been climbing and walking around in his little terrarium and left dragline silk here and there. In a corner he had left plenty of silk, so much that it became almost like a cobweb. I dropped a fly in the terrarium last evening, and it didn't take long before the fly got stuck in the "web". All Mr. Crabs had to do was to walk over to that corner and grab the fly. :D

It was of course unintentional, and in an enclosed space, but I'm sure this happens in nature as well occasionally. :)
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Aug 8, 2018
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He liked the fly so much that he later went back to the leftovers. I let him eat for a while, but then I felt I had to remove the fly because I didn't want to risk Mr. Crabs' butt to burst. It went well. I just grabbed the fly's wing and Mr. Crabs calmly climbed off. :happy:
 

Doodlebird

Arachnoknight
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Apr 29, 2021
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I wish my spiders where that chill! Earlier today my eastern parson spider was busy chasing a third fruit fly while already having two in his mouth 😂. He is my favorite to feed purely because of that.
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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I wish my spiders where that chill! Earlier today my eastern parson spider was busy chasing a third fruit fly while already having two in his mouth 😂. He is my favorite to feed purely because of that.
:lol: Funny. But who doesn't like a nice "Grab the Grub Buffet"?
I once saw a crab spider on the porch ceiling grabbing midge after midge and put them under its belly. It was near the porchlight so there were over a hundred midges on the ceiling.
 

Doodlebird

Arachnoknight
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Apr 29, 2021
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I love when they do that! Occasionally I'll give my parson a couple options for what to eat, and he just grabs them all. He's gotten a bit chub so I don't feed him as often now 😛
 

Cecelias lair

Arachnosquire
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Nov 1, 2020
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I wish my spiders where that chill! Earlier today my eastern parson spider was busy chasing a third fruit fly while already having two in his mouth 😂. He is my favorite to feed purely because of that.
I would love to see a video of that because that's hilarious. 😂
I love spiders that do comical things.
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Aug 8, 2018
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268
I gave my other crab spider, Mr. Spooky, a fly yesterday but even though the fly wasn't that many hours old it was extremely good at avoiding the spider, and since the crab spider was so slow I felt I had to help him. So I opened the box just a tiny bit so I could get the tweezers in... Bad idea. The fly excaped. I should have put the fly in the fridge to slow it down, but I didn't think of that.

Then I put a pupa in the box, so Mr. Spooky can catch the fly as soon as it hatches.

A friend named the spider Mr. Spooky because he is afraid of maggots. He pokes them and runs away when the maggot wiggles. But later he bit it and ate. Maggots are just not the best type of food for these spiders.
 

Doodlebird

Arachnoknight
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Apr 29, 2021
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Flies can be tricky to feed! I like to put them in the fridge for a couple minutes to slow them down, then clip their wings in half so they flap around, but can't fly away. A little cruel, but I find it's the best way to feed them.
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Flies can be tricky to feed! I like to put them in the fridge for a couple minutes to slow them down, then clip their wings in half so they flap around, but can't fly away. A little cruel, but I find it's the best way to feed them.
Yes, I shall use the fridge trick in the future.

Mr. Spooks isn't well. His abdomen is small and he is weak. His legs have started to curl a bit. :confused: Now he is drinking from a moist tissue paper so at least he won't be dehydrated. If that doesn't help, I guess it's his time to go. He is an adult, but I don't know how old he is. Mr. Crabs is doing good, though. Big butt and has lots of energy. :)
 

Doodlebird

Arachnoknight
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Sorry Mr spooks isn't doing well 😢 I've found that most adult males don't live as long as females, since they spend most of their time searching for a mate, and will often reject food. I'm glad Mr crabs is lively though.
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Sorry Mr spooks isn't doing well 😢 I've found that most adult males don't live as long as females, since they spend most of their time searching for a mate, and will often reject food. I'm glad Mr crabs is lively though.
After drinking for a while he straightened out his legs more, and now he looks normal but still slower than usual. I hope he was just dehydrated and that he will eat his fly when the pupa I put in his enclosure hatches. If he refuses to eat, then I guess there isn't much to do.

Both Mr. Crabs and Mr. Spooky would have been dead long ago if I didn't find them. They woke up in late winter indoors with no food and water, with shriveled abdomens. I couldn't just leave them there on the floor. =d I hope Mr. Spooky survives so I can release them both in the wild when the season allows. If he doesn't survive I'll give him positive vibes to take with him to spider heaven. :)
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Mr. Spooky has been resting in a corner the whole day. A wild fly flew in through an open window so I caught it and put it in his box. There are no farms around here, so no pesticides to worry about. Only nice dead critters and dung. :lol: So the fly has been waling around for hours, and finally Mr. Spooks came out from the corner and tried to grab the fly. This is good news. :) But Mr. Spooky is also afraid of it, so this might take a while...
 

Cororon

Arachnoknight
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Mr. Spooky died today, about an hour ago. He stood up and stretched out his front legs as if he felt something happening, and then he died. :(
 
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