The wise, misleading nature of Amyciaea albomaculata
Do not let your eyes fool you, this is not an ant, but a deceptive spider that mimics the Green Tree Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) which are their food Commonly known as Green-ant Mimicking Spider, Amyciaea albomaculata (Araneae- Thomisidae) is an ant mimic spider native to Australia and New Guinea, whose disguise not only mimics the shape and color of the ants (visual mimicry), they also have false eye spots on their abdomen and wave their first pair of legs in the air, apparently mimicking the movements of an ant’s antenna.
In this case the mimicry is not only a strategy for the spider to get their food, but at the same time is a defensive strategy. Bird predators avoid this spider because they see it as a Green Tree Ant, which is a fierce biter and stinger. So, the ants are easily caught as they seem to accept the spider as one of them - probably because the spider can mimic the ants’ chemical scent signals (chemical mimicry). Having made its catch, the spider drops off on a silk thread so that it can eat its meal in safety.
Photo credit: ©iainrmacaulay | Locality: Queensland, Australia (2013)