Animals have evolved multiple strategies for blending in with their environments, from the iconic color-changing common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), to resembling a bundle of floating seaweed like the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques). These strategies are englobed in a broader term known as crypsis, and play an important role in predator-prey interactions for both hiding and hunting. One example of crypsis as a predation strategy is the case of the flower crab spider Misumena vatia. This species is capable of hunting relatively large prey such as bees, with the help of its ability to change color between yellow and white.
Such colors are produced by ommochrome pigments, which are mostly found in the eyes of arthropods, but are also present as granules in the bodies of spiders. The white coloration in these crab spiders is the result of overlapping gunanine and uric acid, which generates type I granules. Meanwhile, the yellow color is produced by type III granules, which combine the reflectance from the white color with other merged granules. A crab spider undergoing color change has a combination of type III and type II granules, which are a transient stage between the yellow and white pigments.
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/211/5/780 - color change mechanism
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