Ground Crab Spider (Xysticus sp.)

click for large

While similar to the brightly colored flower crab spiders, Ground Crab Spiders tend to have shorter, sturdier legs and more patterned abdomens. This one happened to have a pronounced dent on the frontal abdomen, a characteristic I have found on many Xysticus spiders. They move slowly (hah, unless you are trying to photograph them), and tend to hunt by stationing themselves in a high-traffic area and grabbing whatever insect or spider passes close enough.

They do not build webs, and instead rely completely on ambush. I found this guy hiding in the siding cracks on my garage, waiting for something to pass by.

Raynox DCR-150 and Raynox DCR-250 stacked and mounted on my Panasonic Lumix FZ8.