#thomisus

[razehider]

i'm not gonna pretend i'm not always excited to see a big Thomisus onustus but certain individuals really stand out because when the pattern around their eyes is strong enough it looks like uncle scrooge having a mental breakdown

you can do anything you want with your life now that you know this

(July 9th, 2024)

[ljsbugblog]

the marigolds are in full flower, which has attracted a myriad pollinators and their predators, like this small crab spider.

Unknown Flower Crab Spider (genus Thomisus).

[herpsandbirds]

Pink Crab Spider, Thomisus onustus, family Thomisidae, Dorset, England

photograph by David Hamilton

[onenicebugperday]

@lostinthebluebox submitted: More South African bugs from Cape Town, this time the teeniest tiny little pink spider I found in my garden a few years ago. Google tells me it's a Thomisus, or garden crab spider, and can change colour from yellow to pink depending on the flower they're on.

I went digging in my photo files to share it because I'm sure this blog will give it their deserved appreciation.

What a beautiful woman! Yes, she looks like Thomisus to me, and they can indeed change colors! Pretty neat trick.

Here's a link to photos of all kinds of them in various colors if anyone wants to admire :)

[raw-wild]

Pink Crab Spider | Rémi Sanchez

[colorsoutofearth]

Crab Spider (Thomisus onustus)

Photo by Paul Harcourt Davies

[vainaspaver]

The yellow queen / La reina amarilla by Pedro Sánchez ( limicolero )

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Sébastien Malo, crab spider (Thomisus onustus)

2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

[chrysallising]

different is not ugly

[razehider]

this is the same Thomisus onustus i posted about before. i checked on her often, and eventually came back to her looking significantly less plump, and protecting a big egg sac. it's not a common find by any means, so i was pretty pleased, but then something even more interesting started to happen.

she became paler and paler over time. i had seen something like this only a few weeks earlier, but this time, instead of mimicking the brown dead flower, she was turning white: mimicking her own egg sac. it blew my mind when i initially realized what was happening. the flower thing was weird enough, but for her to change color to match a completely different surface, one she had created herself, was really unique. the plant itself turned grey eventually, but she was way ahead of it

unfortunately, she died mysteriously, missing a leg and with a severely shriveled abdomen but otherwise undamaged, still standing on the egg sac she dedicated the last few weeks of her life to. the flower itself was blown away by the wind and rain soon after, and i don't know if the eggs ever got to hatch. if i find any T. onustus around this spot next year, i'll certainly remember her

(June 21st, 2024 for the first two photos, then June 22nd, June 25th, July 3rd, July 10th, and finally July 18th for the last two photos)

[ljsbugblog]

little guy!!

Spectacular Crab Spider, male(?) (Thomisus spectabilis).

[herpsandbirds]

Crab Spider, Thomisus onustus, family Thomisidae, Dorset, UK

photograph by Jamie Thorpe

[ayanos-pl]

西洋朝顔にいたアズチグモ♀。仮面の忍者 赤影のようなマスクをつけている（8月17日）

spider (Thomisus labefactus)

pająk

[dailycreatures]

Creature 53

Thomisus onustus

Thomisus onustus is a crab spider (meaning unlike most spiders they can walk sideways), native to Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Asia. Females of the species can change color from white, yellow and pink as a means of camouflage. They have a symbiotic relationship with the flowers they reside in, where the spider will deter (or sometimes eat) creatures that threaten the flower, and in return the flower gives the spider a home. Oddly enough, the spider will eat the flower pollen during times of low prey abundance. 

fact source: Wikipedia

image source: reddit

[onenicebugperday]

Pink crab spider aka heather crab spider, Thomisus onustus, Thomisidae

Found throughout Europe and into Asia and northern Africa

Photos 1-2 by macronocturno, 3-4 by alexis_orion, 5-6 by mammal, 7 by blaupfeilda, 8 by dmtrsav, and 9 by iyptala

[mossiestpiglet]

Nooooo and I just discovered the perfect color changing crab spider with a stripey hot pink phase! (kidding, not about the perfect pink spider just about being upset)

Crabs could definitely work in that regard! And while there’s plenty of large intimidating crabs and the whole “sea creature” aspect would lend an air of credibility as a pirate, I think if the particular species was one that was especially small, delicate, and/or colorful then that would end up having that effect of “really? He’s got that?”

Ok. Daemon AU. Totally open to thoughts / suggestions / entirely different directions. Starting with the main three, obviously.

Edward I think needs something small and unexpected that he would try to hide from others, lest it give away that Blackbeard is not as he seems. Presumably he would have settled right after killing his dad so it could tie in there too. Lots of contradictions going on here... dangerous / aggressive, but also probably something pretty. Duplicitous, if I can make it work. Vulnerable, but also defensive. My first idea is actually some kind of crab, maybe? Still thinking about it. I also thought about a hummingbird but idk if that one really fits, and a snake is too obvious (and passably cool) unless its a really good one.

Stede I feel like is the kind of guy that gets something absurd. The fic I just read did a fancy peacock which worked, but I think I want to incorporate the crushing vulnerability and lack of self-esteem with him too. So I'm thinking... what about one of those fuck-all massive moths? There's a lot interesting here with themes of transformation and flight and your whole soul being an eye-catching fuckery (eye-spots 100%) but also fundamentally it's a bug. And not even a butterfly. Delicate and useless and too weird to even be the right kind of delicate and useless. Yeah?

Now Izzy.

Izzy has several obvious animal motifs I'm skipping past right away - dogs and sparrows - because I think I can do better than a dog and I just read a sparrow. First instinct was some kind of waterbird - ideally hitting a nice balance of too fancy and too scruffy to be cool or impressive, and of course it needs to mate for life. Might have tripped into a great option right at the start of my speculation. I present... the Anhinga / Snakebird:

It's pretty big. Lives around the Caribbean. They actually swim in the water with just their heads above it and skewer through fish with their beaks. Fun fact, though, is despite swimming they do not have waterproof feathers - meaning they can't stay in the water very long and then have to fan out their feathers to sun dry. Territorial. And also the males have to bring the females all the nest building materials because she refuses to collect any sticks herself even if they are right next to her, which I just thought was funny.

Only thing I'm not sure about is the mating for life vs monogamous for just a breeding season thing.

So... thoughts? I'm gonna keep thinking out loud (via tumblr posts).