Many Thomisidae lurk amongst the stamens and petals of flowers, which they closely match in colour, waiting to seize the insects which visit the blossoms for nectar.
One genus of Thomisidae (Phognarachne), which inhabits the Oriental region, adopts the clever device of spinning on the surface of a leaf a sheet of web resembling the fluid portions of a splash of bird's dung, the more solid central portions being represented by the spider itself, which waits in the middle of the patch to seize the butterflies or other insects that habitually feed on birds' excrement and are attracted to the patch mistaking it for their natural food.
To this category belong Myrmarachne plataleoides, one of the Salticidae, and Amyciaea forticeps, one of the Thomisidae, which in India imitate and live with the vicious little red ant (Oecophylla smaragdina); also Myrmarachne providens, which mimics the red and black Indian ant (Sima rufonigra); and the South American species of Clubionidae, e.g.
An example of the latter occurs in Singapore where the vicious red spinning-ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is mimicked by the larva of a Noctuid moth and by spiders belonging to two distinct families, namely, Saltiicus plataleoides (Salticidae) and Amyciaea forticeps (Thomisidae), there being no reason to suppose that either the moth larva or the spiders are protected forms. Mimetic aggregations of species similar to those mentioned above have been found in other countries; but the instances cited are sufficient to show how widespread are the influences of mimicry and how profoundly it has modified the insect fauna of various parts of the world.