Home of the Practically Perfect Pink Phlox and other native plants for pollinators

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Pollinator Watch

I've been watching for pollinators on the Camassia and so has this crab spider. Flowers spiders, as crab spiders are also known, have short, wide, flat bodies with two pairs of over sized front legs for grabbing and holding their prey, and small venomous fangs for injecting a paralyzing poison.


That fast acting venom means they can catch grasshoppers and butterflies. As hunters they wait  patiently for an unsuspecting bee or fly to land near their hiding spot and then grab them. They are quick and like crabs can move backwards, forwards and sideways with ease. Masters of camouflage, they can change colors to match the flower they are hiding on.
Carpenter bee and Blue Orchard Mason bee early spring 2015
Although, they eat beloved pollinators, they are considered beneficial in the garden and also prey upon flies, mosquitoes, moths, and other insect pests. Crab spiders are not immune to being preyed upon, they're often a tasty dish for wasps, ants, large spiders, lizards, birds and shrews.

The food chain in a garden is so dramatic. It's better than most TV shows!

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

15 comments:

  1. Seeing these camassias and the bees, spiders makes me so excited about spring. Spring is trying it's best to come here. Happiness is...

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    1. I hope spring arrives in your garden soon...I would be so impatient.

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  2. I like seeing those cute little spiders, now if the bunnies would leave my Camassia alone.

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  3. I agree: The show is much better than TV! And now it's warm enough to get out and watch it! Great photos and info, Gail. :)

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    1. So much better! Thanks for the compliment, Beth.

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  4. Great post! The secret world in a native garden truly is thrilling. I can't wait until mine wakes up again.

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  5. I'm with you on loving to watch the reality show that occurs 24/7 in my own yard, Gail! Cynthia

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  6. Yes, there is life and death drama all over the garden. By the way, like the name flower spider much better than crab spider!

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  7. What a pretty purple flower this Camassia is. Looks like Spring is off to a good start in your neck of the woods :-)

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  8. Your reference to crab spiders as a "tasty dish" had me laughing. But I suppose everyone has to eat, right? ;)

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  9. Beautiful Camassias. I planted some last fall for the first time and they are just poking up out of the soil right now.

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"Insects are the little things that run the world." Dr. E O Wilson