All we have to do is OBSERVE!

Have you ever heard of symbiotic relationships between spiders and flies? 🕷️🪰 I recently stumbled upon one of these fascinating interactions. It all started with a cup of tea! 🤠☕

Three years ago, I was casually sipping tea in my backyard when something caught my eye, a Colopsus male spider on an anthurium leaf. As always, I grabbed my camera, ready to capture this one 📸 But this time, things got even more interesting.

I noticed a tiny fly sticking close to the spider, almost like a pet 🧐 Every time the spider moved, the fly followed, even hopping between leaves to stay near. Intrigued, I documented what I was seeing and later dove into research, only to discover that this might be a unique symbiotic relationship between a spider and a milichid fly, known for kleptoparasitic behavior!

Turns out, sometimes nature’s most fascinating secrets are hidden in plain sight 🌿 This might be the first photographic evidence of such behavior in Colopsus sp.! 🏆

This is another story of thousands of encounters which shows why #CitizenScience is important. Your observations and data matter! 🌍 Nature has so many stories waiting to be told, all we have to do is observe 👁️ Just have a few minutes daily for observing and feel the wonders of nature! Maybe with a cup of tea ☕😉

Observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/241587430