Whenever I’m outside and I see fleabane flowers I try to stop and check them for small pollinators. The flowers themselves aren’t very large, and the central florets that produce the nectar are really tiny so they’re no good for larger pollinators like butterflies, but they do attract a lot of small pollinators. Over the years, I’ve found small bees, flies, gnats, beetles, ants, etc. on those flowers. When I was out in the Gothe State Forest yesterday there were quite a few fleabanes blooming, but I didn’t find anything interesting on them until I was almost home. On the very last bunch I checked, I found this tiny little green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans). It apparently knows that fleabane attract lots of pollinators, too. It was settled into the center of the flower where it blended in quite well. It was patiently waiting for some little insect to come along looking for a meal. It would then jump on them and bite them, making them become a meal instead. These spiders never get very large, but by the end of the summer, this one will be big enough to take down a good sized honeybee. That means that it needs to consume a lot of smaller insects to get to that size. Although I always feel some sympathy for prey animals (even flies and ants), I also know that without spiders like this, the world would be over run by gnats and flies. Besides, you have to admit that this little spider is quite beautiful.