Crab spiders & whites

[Patricia and Jeff Harding]

Patricia has a nice photo of a Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) in the
clutches of a crab spider on a daffodill.  I suspect you see more whites in
such a predicament because there are more whites.
Cheers, Jeff

Michael Gochfeld wrote:

> Mantids are excellent butterfly predators.  Unlike the hornets and
> dragonflies, they are ambush predators, and are incredibly patient.
> You can get rid of those pesky skippers and swallowtails with a few
> well-placed mantids in your butterfly bush.
>
> I've watched several mantids in our bush through the years (I don't have
> enough patience to watch them often).  I haven't yet seen one take a bee
> or wasp, they seem to specialize on butterflies. Maybe that's a New
> Jersey preversity.
>
> One thing I have studied is the prey of ambush bugs and crab spiders.
> There is a strong preponderance of Cabbage Whites.  I'm trying to
> figure out whether this is because dangling White butterflies attract
> my attention (I miss more subtly-colored species), or whether Cabbage
> Whites are simply the most abundant prey available, or whether the
> predators select flowers that are attractive to the most abundant
> species.  One of our students suggested that butteflies are merely
> occasional snacks for these predators which eat mainly small
> hymenopterans and dipterans.
>
> M. Gochfeld