First report of predation on floral visitors by crab spiders on Croton selowii Baill. (Euphorbiaceae)

in the literature it has been extensively mentioned that crab spiders (araneae: thomisidae) prey on floral visitors of several plant species. here we present observations of croton selowii baill. (euphorbiaceae), a monoecious species harboring individuals of crab spiders in an area of coastal vegetation of pernambuco state, brazil. the species is visited by several invertebrate orders, and some of them were preyed upon by the spiders, mainly diptera species. the spiders rubbed the forelimbs within the flowers, which may constitute a strategy to camouflage these structures. croton selowii seems to represent a suitable foraging site for the spiders, because it has a generalist pollination system (thus being visited by a wide range of invertebrate species) and blooms in a period of low flower resource availability in the area.