A crab spider (Thomisus sp. Family: Thomisidae) and a flower beetle @ home, Kerala. The Thomisdae, or Crab spiders are the masters of ambush and disguise. Some of them change their colors in tune to the surroundings, lie in wait, and leap on the unseeing insects. They are called crab spiders because of their crab-like appearance and sideways motion. They occur more commonly on plants, and sometimes under rocks. The family name thomisidae is derived from the Greek “thomis” meaning “a sting”.

The crab spider seems to be eyeballing the flower beetle and checking if it is potential food material

The flower beetles very often open the flower buds and eat the bud centres (see the image below). These bud centres contain the flower clustre in its primordial stage, which is a nutritious meal for the beetle. Probably the crab spider is aware of this and that could be the reason (?) it is staying near the flower bud in the first picture

I guess the plant in this picture is the zoomed in part of the cherry tree (see the cherry picking indian koel), with its budding leaves and flowers.

Another crab spider waiting for its prey, between the “bushes” of a cockscomb (celosia cristata) flower.

Date: 09-11 Sept 2005
Location: @ home, Kottayam, Kerala, India
Camera: Olympus C770UZ + MCON-40 Macro Lens

Tags: araneae, backyard, beetle, bud, camouflage, celosia cristata, cherry tree, cockscomb, crab, crab spider, flower, flower beetle, flower bud, prey, spiders, thomisidae, thomisus

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Italy is full of towering historical edifices, and during our euro-mediterranean adventures, we were enchanted to see that it has a rich marine life too. It was a warm afternoon at Gallipoli, south of Italy. We went to swim and feel the Ionian Sea, but soon found ourselves studying the marine life thriving on the rocky shores.

Marine Life & Colors under splashing waves @ Gallipoli, Puglia, Italy

… along came a jellyfish

We were in the sea while this jellyfish floated by, along with some non-aquatic plants. We were amazed by the beautiful red floral like patterns on its umbrella. The externally visible patterns match to the Pelagia noctiluca, a toxic, stinging jellyfish, commonly known as the mauve stinger in the Mediterranean. The mauve stinger has the ability to glow in the dark [nocti = night, luca = light]. However, we didn’t find any protruding tentacles on its body and we are not sure if it is the mauve stinger itself.

A closeup of the floral patterns on the mediterranean jellyfish. Jellyfish are known as medusa in Italian, attributing to the greek mythical sea nymph of the same name.

coral like formation on the rocky shores, with white ‘flower’ crests

hide and seek… a mediterranean crab cozily camoflagued in its rocky surroundings

— More of what we captured @ Gallipoli —

Gallipoli is a small town in Salento, southern Italy, in the Puglia region. It is located by the Ionian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean. Less than 1 hour by train, from Lecce, capital of Puglia.

The beaches of Salento are marvellous, with white sandy beaches and intermittent rocky shores like these. Portrayed in the local dialect, Lu Salentu, lu sule lu mare lu ientu [Salento, the sun, the sea, the wind].

Tags: adriatic sea, camouflage, coral, crab, gallipoli, ionian sea, jellyfish, lecce, mauve stinger, mediterranean, medusa, pelagia noctiluca, puglia, rocky shore, salento, toxic

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