It’s Friday night. You’re out for a few drinks with your mates, like you do every week. It’s been a particularly busy period at work and you’re keen to unwind.

However, you can’t help noticing that Gary’s acting a bit strange. He’s not his usual self, but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s different about him. You shrug it off and enjoy yourself. He’s probably just a little under the weather.

The night carries on and you forget about Gary, until all of a sudden you look around and realise it’s just the two of you left at the bar. For the first time you get a good look at him, and a wave of nausea washes over you as you try to make sense of what you’re seeing.

Has Gary got more eyes than usual? And, hang on… He’s got more limbs as well. How much have I had to drink?

The realisation hits you just as you feel Gary’s fangs pierce into your neck. It turns out that Gary was actually a spider pretending to be Gary all along.

You really should be more careful.

Mimicry is quite common in the animal kingdom, especially among spiders, but few have nailed this quirk of evolution as perfectly as the Turtle-Ant-Mimicking Crab Spider.

These spiders prey on Turtle Ants, and therefore rely on being able to move stealthily among them – hiding in plain sight until its too late.

While the possibility that one of your friends is a spider is a fear that Turtle Ants have to live with on a daily basis, there are thankfully no spiders in existence that have managed to mimic humans…

Or perhaps that’s just what the spiders want you to think.

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Giant Turtle Ant (Cephalotes atratus) and Turtle-Ant-Mimicking Crab Spider (Aphantochilus rogersi), Manu Biological Station, Peru