Oxytate virens: Jackpot Winner!

Latin name	Observation date	Location
Oxytate virens	23.11.2023	Muara Dua, Lhokseumawe City, Aceh, Indonesia

He's a small male predator that lives in the mango tree in my yard: a translucent green crab spider that belongs to the genus Oxytate, more specifically the species Oxytate virens.

That afternoon, I observed him alone, and indeed, most spiders live solitary lives. He was smart enough to choose a green environment as his home.

With a translucent green body, it allows him to camouflage perfectly so that potential prey do not realize the danger that threatens them. In fact, he almost escaped my sight.

My observations are that this spider has the following physical characteristics: he has eight very small eyes, and each of them has golden eyelids; he has eight hairy legs—the front four legs are longer; and he has an elongated and oval abdomen (typical of male spiders).

I left him after taking some photos. But after seeing all the photos, I felt there was still something missing and wanted to take more. I returned to my yard with the expectation that this guy was still there.

Oh, it turns out...as expected. He's still there. But this time with a jackpot! Yes, he had prey in his jaws; it was a fly. That's fantastic! He really is a shrewd predator!

He bit the fly's tail with all his might, and the poor prey could do nothing but accept the bad luck. In just a few seconds, the prey is completely paralyzed. It was a bad day, but for the predator, it was the perfect time for lunch.

Latitude	Longitude	Map
5.166106	97.131483	https://maps.app.goo.gl/t6mDkGC9eEqNaA7c9

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^{All of the images here are my own work, taken with a Xiaomi POCO NFC smartphone and an assembled external macro lens.}