Spider eating another spider?

[wilderness]

Is this spider eating the other spider? And what spider species are they?

Took this picture in my back garden. The quality is poor because it's cropped to zoom into the detail.

[tom00_uk]

looks like a shedding taking place

[wilderness]

Originally Posted by tom00_uk

looks like a shedding taking place

The white spider was moving its legs though... can it still move its legs when its shedding?

[Geoff F]

When I saw the thumbnail I wondered if you had been lucky enough to capture a mating pair of Misumena vatia. But an enlargement shows that the small spider is another species, probably one of the jumping spider family.

So yes it does look as though she has caught another spider.

Misumena vatia hides on flowers etc then pounces on anything which comes close; and it is amazing how they can catch prey, like bumblebees, which is larger and stronger than they are.

[wilderness]

Originally Posted by Geoff F

When I saw the thumbnail I wondered if you had been lucky enough to capture a mating pair of Misumena vatia. But an enlargement shows that the small spider is another species, probably one of the jumping spider family.

In the spot where I took the picture, there seems to be A LOT of these little black spiders running around in the grass! A serious amount of them!

Originally Posted by Geoff F

So yes it does look as though she has caught another spider.

Misumena vatia hides on flowers etc then pounces on anything which comes close; and it is amazing how they can catch prey, like bumblebees, which is larger and stronger than they are.

There are no flowers nearby, but I did think on first glance it looked like a crab spider. I'm quite glad that I don't have to live out in the garden and be the same size!!!

[frits_b]

The victim looks like a Pardosa (wolf spider) to me. Fits the description too ('running around in large quantities').

[UB4 gardener]

Geoff, does piggy back count as mating behaviour?

[Susie]

Hehe! I bet he is wondering how to get off without getting eaten.

[Geoff F]

Geoff, does piggy back count as mating behaviour?

Well it is certainly the safest method of approach considering the size difference. That is a very interesting photo.