Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A White-tipped Black moth (Melanchroia chephise) visits a Croton plant -- maybe Lindheimer's Doveweed (Croton lindheimeri) -- in bloom at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, in Colorado County, TX, USA.
A Crab Spider (family Thomisidae) -- possibly a young male Swift Crab Spider (Mecaphesa celer) -- sneaks over to the moth, as if on the hunt, but the spider is missing 3 of its long legs that it uses to grab prey, and it seems unable to successfully attack the moth armed with only one of its long legs. The spider should be able to regenerate its legs -- albeit maybe smaller versions of the originals -- during its next molt, but if it can't hunt effectively, it might be a fair question whether the spider can survive until then.
The White-tipped Black seems to just ignore the Crab Spider, and the spider retreats to a nearby leaf to just hide.
A White-tipped Black moth (Melanchroia chephise) visits a Croton plant -- maybe Lindheimer's Doveweed (Croton lindheimeri) -- in bloom at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, in Colorado County, TX, USA.
A Crab Spider (family Thomisidae) -- possibly a young male Swift Crab Spider (Mecaphesa celer) -- sneaks over to the moth, as if on the hunt, but the spider is missing 3 of its long legs that it uses to grab prey, and it seems unable to successfully attack the moth armed with only one of its long legs. The spider should be able to regenerate its legs -- albeit maybe smaller versions of the originals -- during its next molt, but if it can't hunt effectively, it might be a fair question whether the spider can survive until then.
The White-tipped Black seems to just ignore the Crab Spider, and the spider retreats to a nearby leaf to just hide.
