Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Hidden death

Misumena vatia is a species of crab spiders, that preferably hides in and on flowers, colormatching them for perfect camouflage. Here, a fly obviously came too close and fell victim to the highly specialized spider, that did blend in with the white rose petals just perfectly. Without knowig it was there, it was almost not to spot.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 07.2022
Date Uploaded: 11.2022
Photo Location: Velbert, Germany
Camera: E-M1MarkIII
Copyright: © Christian Brockes