From color-changing chameleons to the humble stick insect, creatures of the animal kingdom have evolved strange and wacky ways to stay hidden.
But now scientists may have discovered one of the strangest camouflage tactics yet.
So, can you spot the second spider in this amazing image?
Scientists say they may have discovered the first case of two spiders working together to hide, but can you spot the second spider?
Deep in the tropical jungles of southwest China’s Yunnan province, researchers have stumbled upon two spiders that may be working together to hide.
Shi-Mao Wu of Yunnan University, who first spotted this elusive duo, says: “This may be the world’s first case of cooperative mimicry.”
If you had trouble spotting the second spider at first, you’re not alone since even Dr. Wu says they had trouble seeing it.
It’s directly under the little brown spider.
Dr Wu and his colleague Jiang-Yun Gao discovered this strange behavior while hiking in the Xishuangbanna rainforest near the China-Laos border.
He first spotted a male Thomisus guangxicus spider resting on the flower of a Hoya pandurata, a plant that grows on tea plants.
However, only after looking closer was he able to see the much larger female underneath.
“When I first observed the male spider, I did not observe the female spider, they managed to fool my eyes.” he said NewScientist.
Researchers discovered this behavior in a male and female crab spider living in the Xishunagbanna rainforest in southern China.
In the dense rainforest of Yunnan province (pictured), crab spiders use their incredible camouflage to hide from predators and prey.
Spiders in the Thomisidae family, often called crab spiders, are well known for their incredible camouflage abilities.
Crab spiders frequently live on or around flowers, using bright colors and patterns to blend in with the petals.
Some crab spiders even have the ability to change color in order to better blend into their surroundings.
As a fierce ambush predator, the spider simply waits for an unsuspecting pollinator to land on the flower before grabbing and biting its prey.
However, these male and female Thomisus guangxicus spiders seem to take their camouflage to a whole new level.
What makes these spiders so difficult to spot, researchers suggest, is that they work together to resemble a single flower.
Dr. Wu hypothesizes that the smaller male imitates the pistil, the colorful organs in the middle of the flower, while the larger female imitates the white petals.
The spiders were found on a Hoya pandurata flower (photo). They think the male mimics the darker center while the female resembles the white outer petals.
Crab spiders, like flower crab spiders, use their camouflage to blend into flower petals where they can jump out and catch visiting pollinators.
While either one may stand out on its own, when put together they can perfectly match the look of the flower.
If true, this would be the first time such cooperative mimicry has been observed.
In their paper published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Dr. Wu and his colleague write: “The complex color of the flower only matches its whole when individual spiders of both sexes are present.
“This could be an example of ‘cooperation’ that expands the niche of females and males in mimicry systems, and cooperating individuals may have improved survival and predation efficiency.”
However, not all scientists are convinced by this theory.
Gabriele Greco, who studies spider behavior and ecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, says there are simpler explanations.
Mr Greco told NewScientist: “It is very difficult to establish the nature of the behavior observed.”
Since it’s quite common for male spiders to sit on females during their mating period, this behavior may not have much to do with camouflage.
Mr. Greco adds: “The simplest explanation could be a simple interaction related to courtship and mating.”