Before this morning I had never seen or even heard of a crab spider. One of the joys I get from nature photography is discovering new things. Despite spending the last 50 years (how is that possible) working on shoreline and waterway management challenges I still feel in my heart that I am fundamentally a naturalist. I went to Hampshire College in the early 1970s and fell in love with my courses on ecology, field biology, forestry, and biodiversity. I have my old professor, Ray Coppinger, to thank for instilling in me a strong curiosity about all layers of our surrounding natural world. That spirit still lives on in me so when I come upon something new my inner college-kid excitement over discovery rises right up. This morning, after the thunder storm passed well past us, I ventured out with my macro setup in hand to explore a wildflower garden. I found a couple of nice subjects after standing still for several minutes and concentrating on movement in the air around the flowers. Toward the end of my time in the field I noticed a very pale, out of place speck on one of the flowers. It was through the lens that I saw what appeared to be an opaque crab-like spider. So here is my first ever crab spider. It wasn’t until I got home and researched it a bit that I found out what I had photographed. In case you wanted to see its face up close I included a close crop of the first image. Lovely face huh? Six eyes! I also found a nice little moth which I will post soon. I’ll need Bill Fintel’s help in identifying that one.
