Spider preying on cat

[David Calhoun]

Found this when I was checking my babies.Sorry if the photo is too creepy/violent for some,
but I thought it might be useful for people to recognize this spider as a baddie.I know all yellowjackets,
hornets, and wasps are bad, but how about spiders and ants? Does it depend on the species , or can you make generalizations?David. P.S.This is my first attempt sending a photo as an
attachment-if it doesn't work well,I'm open to advice.

[David Calhoun]

previous post image was too big.trying again.

[Mona Miller]

Looks like a crab spider. I found that they eat at night too. I saw them carrying away a tiny Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar and it was gone before I could intervene. Ants, all of them are bad. They farm aphids and will attack almost anything that gets in their way. Slugs, I've seen them eating a pupa that fell to the ground.

Preying Mantis, Crab Spiders, and Assassin bugs wait in the flowers. Some of the butterflies don't even realize what's up until they've been nabbed.

http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search& ... rch=Search
Here's a search on crab spider on the Bug Guide.
They come in all sizes and seem to take the color of the flower/leaf that they are on.

[David Calhoun]

Mona,thanks for putting me on to the Bug Guide web site.Also , thanks about the tips on what is
"arthropoda non grata" ,I ordered a book, World of the Monarch, but haven't gotten it yet.David

[Mona Miller]

I saw a lacewing larvae sucking the life out of a second instar caterpillar. Their eggs are laid on fine strings and on the plants where they plan to eat. I've also seen them sucking tiny caterpillars out of the eggs.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/253686
It looks like a slug

http://bugguide.net/node/view/149419
Eggs on attached on fine sting
I see these on my milkweed, I pull them off

http://bugguide.net/node/view/131248/bgimage
Adult

[David Calhoun]

Saw the photo of the lacewing egg-it's tiny. Do you recommend freezing all leaves before feeding them
to cats, to kill bad things like spiders that may be on them?

[NickiM]

I've always heard that praying mantis were beneficial insects, but I guess it depends on your point of view. I know they eat other insects, but I didn't know they ate Monarch cats.

[Mona Miller]

The preying mantis also eat the adult butterflies.

I do not recommend freezing milkweed, you can wash, dry, and check it thoroughly.

[BlizzardNole]

Last night I found one of those crab spiders on my table next to my caterpillar aquarium! He had a bad run-in with my thumb. I have no qualms now about squishing spiders and any other bad guys on my milkweeds with my bare fingers. I've gotten ruthless LOL.

[Mona Miller]

Sometimes I wear plastic gloves out into the garden. Some of the spiders that I have in the garden have gotten huge, I'm too afraid to take my bare fingers and squish them. Also, I know that they are beneficials and some of them should be left to do their work of eating other predators.