Lynx Spider - Peucetia viridans

This Female Green Lynx Spider is protecting her egg sack and making a meal of a small pollen covered native bee. These spiders do not catch their prey with a web but pounce on them instead. I am fascinated by the eyes of spiders, particularly the hunting spiders. They have very good vision compared to insects. The eyes are looking forward. If you look at the eyes of a fly or bee they are on the sides of the head. A measure of the size of this spider can be seen by the thumb in the background. The spider was not at all aggressive to me but maybe a little worried when I flipped her leaf over to take this photo. The Lynx Spiders will often hang upside down and are sometimes referred to as upside down jumping spiders. Green Lynx Spiders will adapt to their background and attempt to mimic the color. Second photo shows this. The spider is on a Scabiosa Black Knight flower. If you are interested in more lynx spiders, check out the Western Lynx Spider