How crab spiders work together to mimic flowers to fool prey and predators

It’s a first! Two scientists from Yunnan University in China have revealed in a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment that they have observed two spiders working together for the first time. In this first instance of cooperative mimicry, a male and female teamed up to mimic a flower to fool both prey and predators.

Two spiders join together to imitate a flower

Two of the study’s authors, Shi-Mao Wu and Jiang-Yun Gao, explain that they investigated in a tropical rainforest in the Xishuangbanna region of southwest China. Then they came across what they thought was a lone spider “which was clearly trying to imitate the flowers around her”. But when they looked at the scene more closely, they realized that it was actually two spiders, one on top of the other, “together they resemble one bloom“.

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The researchers also noted that the duo consisted of a male and a female. “The female had the appearance of pale white fused petals, while the male, sitting on the back of the female and much smaller, took on the appearance of a pistil.”

“The coloration of the female was similar to the coloration of the petals of the flowers around the pair, while the darker colors of the male closely matched the inner parts of the flowers that surrounded them. Both animals were needed to match the coloration of the full flowers Hoya pandurata who surrounded them.specified.

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Queens of camouflage

Both individuals are crab spiders belonging to the family Thomisidae. These arachnids owe their name to the longer length of their two pairs of front legs, which resemble… crab claws. They are also known for their excellent camouflage skills, whether to escape predators or ambush their prey.

Usually found on flowers, these spiders have “the ability to blend in with the flowers around them. Some have even been observed change color stay invisible”remind the authors of the study.

On the other hand, scientists point out that no instance of cooperative mimicry had ever been observed in any species before this example. “This adaptation requires both participants to create a convincing camouflage”.

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They indicate that “Further studies of spider species are needed to determine whether their behavior is consistent across multiple members and to better understand their evolutionary history”.