The catch of the day

[Jason Stander]

This is an image of a female flower crab spider (Family: Thomisidae)... these spiders are expert ambushers... they patiently wait for their prey on a flower... they rely on touch than sight to capture their prey... their venom is potent and will kill a bee in seconds... holding the prey in their chelicerae... they literally suck it dry, discarding the empty shell of the insect... notice the other "buggers"... they are called jackal flies... they suck up the juices that leak from the prey.

Sony A550
Sigma Macro 105mm 2.8 DG EX
Kenko extension tubes
Sony HVL - 42AM flash

This image was taken hand held.

Aperture: F20
SS: 1/50s
ISO: 200

Crits and comments always welcome... ENJOY!:w3

[christopher galeski]

nice one Jason,looks like a free for all,nice BG,good capture.well done.

[bhavya joshi]

Great moment shot..Jason.. Like the angle and lots of to see here.. Thanks for information.. :c3:

[Jason Stander]

Thanks guys... appreciate!!!:S3:

[Nancy Bell]

This is a great natural history image. Love the color contrasts, the fine details, and all the critters. Well seen and captured. Thank you for the information on the interactions. Ain't nature grand ?!

[Brendan Dozier]

Very cool interaction capture, Jason. Great details and everything in sharp focus. Love your informative & colorful description, - amazing all the drama that goes on in this macro world. Nice work!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jason,
Love the story/action....the pose, BG, subject.....all works for me! Great job!

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Roman, Brendan and Nancy... appreciate the time!!!!:w3

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jason. This is an awesome behavioral image! - and the biological info is always appreciated. Your crab spider is very colorful and all the jackal flies add a lot of interest - I haven't seen their equivalent over here. Nice job getting most everything within your plane of focus. The comp looks good except that I'd like to see a bit more room at the top, if you have it. If not, you could easily add a little canvas and fill in content from your OOF background. I might also suggest some additional selective sharpening on just the abdomen of the spider and perhaps cloning some of the spectral highlights on the bee. These minor tweaks will really make this image shine! :S3: