Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Crab Spider
I've learned that spiders as hunters can be divided into two broad categories: trappers and ambushers. Trappers include the Common Garden Spider, whose behavior is more typical of what we expect of a spider: they spin webs to catch their prey. Of the second category, there are some ambushing spiders that prowl about on the ground or on vegetation to sneak up on their prey. There is another type, however, like this interesting porcelain-white spider, that does not prowl at all, but simply sits very still in a likely location and waits patiently for a quarry to come by.
This female Crab Spider, also called Flower Spider, has chosen the petals of this zinnia flower as her hiding place. When the next meal gets close enough, she will strike, injecting a quick-acting poison to paralyze her prey.
Since she is not equipped to wrap her kill in a silken shroud, she will feed on the immobilized prize where she killed it.
Crab Spiders usually have wide, flat bodies, with the first two pairs of legs much larger than the back legs.
As you can see this female Misumenoides formosipes has its front legs wide open—"The better to grab you with, my dear!"
The difference in the leg size, the body shape, and the preference for walking sideways or backwards, all contribute to the derivation of the common name for the genus. They do look like misplaced crabs, don't they?
Spiders come in a broad range of colors and shapes.
I think the sharp prickly body and coal-black coloring of the Spiny-bellied Orbweaver is an interesting contrast to the smooth curves and pale white shading of the Crab Spider.
Over time, while waiting to ambush its prey, the Crab Spider will often, chameleon-like, change color to match its background.
I couldn't see any change in the 2005 specimen on the zinnia blossom, above. She kept her porcelain-white color throughout the entire two weeks I watched her.
Maybe zinnia pink just isn't in the Misumenoides formosipes palette?
But, as I have discovered since then, a range of yellows is definitely in its coloring repertoire.
In 2007 I found this female managing to blend quite well with the soft yellow of these goldenrod blossoms.
Unfortunately, for this honeybee, the camouflage helped this female Crab Spider to capture and kill a browsing honeybee.
Misumenoides formosipes can also manage a more vivid yellow, such as is needed to match the bright color of a marigold blossom.
One other unusual characteristic of this species is the difference in size between the males and females, what entomologists call sexual dimorphism; an example of which in the insect world is the Praying Mantis.
The male Crab Spider hiding in this blossom (arrow) is less than half of the size of the female above.
Sometimes while taking a particular image, I am surprised to find that there was more to be seen than I had realized when I snapped the shutter.
The right petal of this Virginia Rose has a Crab Spider waiting patiently for some prey to drop by for some of the sweet nectar offered by this lily.
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.