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A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders
by Joseph K H Koh
  Ant-Like Crab Spider
Amyciaea lineatipes Pickard-Cambridge 1901
 
close-up of 'eyes' on the abdomen
A female (posterior view)

side view close-up
A female (lateral view)
 The abdomen imitates the head of the familiar "Kerengga" ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) with the two dark dots simulating the ant's eyes.

The cephalothorax is exaggeratedly arched, giving the impression that it is the abdomen of the ant.
Classification: Family Thomisidae, Crab Spiders
Habitat: Foliage in gardens and secondary jungles where the familiar Kerengga ants can be found.
Female: 6-7 mm.
Distribution: Singapore, Indonesia.
The first two pairs of legs are often jerkily held up and down while the spider moves about in an advance-and-halt fashion.
It feeds on Kerengga ants at night. On seeing an ant, it pounces on the ant. While holding the ant in its jaws and anchoring itself with a safety line of silk, it falls with the ant. The silken safety line allows the spider to remain suspended in mid-air where the ant has no chance to mount a counter-attack. The ant soon ceases its futile struggle when the venom takes effect.

Crab spiders move sideways, like crabs. The body is not as hairy as in most spiders. They are slow-moving spiders which do not actively hunt like Wolf Spiders. Instead, they remain stationary and await in ambush for some unsuspecting insects to land in front of them. The first two pairs of legs in most Crab Spiders are longer and heavier than the third and fourth pairs, and are armed with spines for holding and grasping prey.
  From "A Guide to Common Singapore Spiders" by Joseph K. H. Koh
BP Guide to Nature Series published by the Singapore Science Centre and sponsored by British Petroleum
© 2000 Joseph K H Koh