This mighty female crab spider (Misumena vatia) grabs itself a nice bee for lunch and these three little freeloader flies want their piece of it as well.
Feel free to click to enlarge and click again to get even closer … only if you really want to.
July 2019, local field, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Nature Journeys 
Wow – this is an interesting photo. I guess you could say – the flies are free-loading on this spider’s meal.
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Yes, they sure are Peggy. Thank you 🙂
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Wow! Great capture Pete and well executed.
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Many thanks David! It was a tricky one with exposures and it took some balancing with the camera to try and get it close.
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Creepy cool, Pete.
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Thank you Sandy. Nature can be so very raw.
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Yes, often the case. Everyone is somebody’s lunch (Ha!).
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🙂
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That is an excellent shot, Pete. Detail is on the money.
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Many thanks Ark. It’s amazing what you find when you are not actually looking for it. I was hunting for butterflies with my lens when I spotted this.
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WHAT an interesting encounter!
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It sure was Anne!
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The crab spider will burst! Hahaha.. what a funny photo 😉
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Ha ha! Although those flies are having their fill, too.
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Like a train wreck… I did not want to look, however…
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Well done for looking Ted! You have made me chuckle to myself here this fine Wednesday morning. Thank you 🙂
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And no bad dreams for me… a win, win
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🙂
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BTW, this required skill
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It was a tough one to get the balance right, mainly because of the spider being so pale and blowing it out, especially as I used flash on this, although well diffused. Then I had to try and get as much in focus as I could as I don’t do the stacking thing. Thank you Ted 🙂
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What a picture – the perfect moment! I never saw these little flies before. What are they doing with the bee? Do they lay eggs?? Astonishing!
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I believe they are feeding on it. Thank you!
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Okay, thank you. Always something new to learn.
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Wonder if the freeloader flies will end up as the dessert themselves…
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Amazing picture. I zoomed in to see all the details. Poor bee.
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Thank you Jill. It just goes to show how powerful these spiders can be.
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Yikes! You’ve certainly captured the drama in this excellent photo.
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Many thanks Belinda! It certainly was a bit of a drama to try and capture it right.
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Opportunists everywhere. Great photo!
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Sure is! Thank you 🙂
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Oh, my! Fabulous capture, Pete!
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Thank you Ellen 🙂
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Oh my! ……
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🙂
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