out in the sticks
I'm back!
My first crab spider, Misumena vatia, of the year, and not even a full grown one. This female is around 4mm in size, in fact she moulted just a day after I took this photo. Before I'd had chance to release her, I came home to find some shrivelled up remains and was concerned she'd died, but soon realised that it was just an exoskeleton and she was alive and well. I left her alone for a while though as immediately after shedding is when spiders are at their most fragile and vulnerable, before their new exoskeleton hardens. It was literally overnight, I thought shedding took longer than that, pity I couldn't have known as it might have made for some interesting shots.
I'm back!
My first crab spider, Misumena vatia, of the year, and not even a full grown one. This female is around 4mm in size, in fact she moulted just a day after I took this photo. Before I'd had chance to release her, I came home to find some shrivelled up remains and was concerned she'd died, but soon realised that it was just an exoskeleton and she was alive and well. I left her alone for a while though as immediately after shedding is when spiders are at their most fragile and vulnerable, before their new exoskeleton hardens. It was literally overnight, I thought shedding took longer than that, pity I couldn't have known as it might have made for some interesting shots.