White Flower spider

Diaea variabilis

A sympathetic response to my recent monologues of the last couple of days, thankyou for that. I do generally try to limit the text to about half a page, but sometimes my pointing fingers just get carried away. The really weird thing is that I am a terrible reader and really struggle, but I guess I don't have to use my brain for typing.

Plenty of material around today although nothing with the adrenaline rush of yesterday's safari. Snakes are not a big favorite like cute damsels and kitties, but when you have stared down the lens into the eye of a potentially dangerous snake, it just has to be blipped. Just from a pure journal point of view, it is the most exciting thing that is going to happen that day for sure.

I was looking for a mantis today, in response to a request. This involves a lot of intense bush staring. Because they have such effective camouflage, they don't move around much and even when they do, they sway back and fourth. This makes them extremely difficult to find. I probably looked into the eye of a dozen today and didn't see one.

I concentrated on the clumps of white florets as I know that the flower mantis hunts in these blooms. The blooms are popular with a lot of insects and butterflies, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Darwenian nature. The flower mantis is not the only predator to take advantage of this insect magnet. For the first time, I found the white spider.

I have seen this spider before, but always chewing on a butterfly or a moth. I often see a dead butterfly hanging from the bloom and can guarantee that when I move in for a closer inspection, there will be a white spider chewing on it. Because of its albino coloring, this spider is even more difficult to spot than the flower mantis.

The spider does not build a web for hunting, nor does it have the terrific eyesight of the jumping spiders. It sits in ambush, waiting for the unsuspecting dinner to venture too close. Nothing is too big, I have seen enormous butterflies hanging from the jaws of this ferocious and yet diminutive hunter, less than half an inch in length. It looks harmless enough, but I wouldn't poke my finger in there!

Dave