Crab Spider
A good chance to have a practise with the tripod photographing this female crab spider poised in ambush, probably Xysticus cristatus, on a mallow in my garden this afternoon.
Typical stance with the front two pairs of legs held wide to embrace whatever unfortunate invertebrate might come along.
Very crab-like in appearance.
Common and widespread, watch out for these spiders on ground level or in low vegetation.
She hung around for a couple of hours before the rain came. Interestingly, she wasn't on the open flowers on the same plant, which many insects were visiting, but on the buds. Some species of crab spiders can change colour to match the flower they are sitting on, but not species from this genus.
