Little Monsters - Part III: Lynx Spider

Lynx spiders are ambush predators. Their eyes are small and quite good at detecting motion, but poor for judging distance. These spiders rely on camouflage to hide and vibration for prey detection and warning of predators.

Here a Lynx spider waits for some hapless insect to come to the tender buds of a pine tree in the spring.

Click for a larger picture!

Lynx spiders are very shy, they'll scury under a leaf or to the other side of the branch if they see you moving. However, they do seem innocently optimistic in a "so odd it's kind of cute" way.

Just waiting for lunch, accepting and trusting to fate that it will be tasty. Click to enlarge the photo!

While they look nothing like the wild cat from which this family of spiders takes its name, they are capable of tackling seemingly outsized prey much like the Lynx:

Same tree as the first picture a little later in the season, though I have no idea if it's the same spider.

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Little Monsters - Part I: Wolf Spiders
Little Monsters - Part II: Golden Orb Weaver

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