Misumena vatia

Misumena vatia

Female with prey

silver-spotted skipper
(Hesperia comma)
 Female Capturing
orange-belted bumblebee
(Bombus ternarius)

Scientific classification

Kingdom Animalia
:

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylu Chelicerata
m:

Class: Arachnida

Order: Araneae

Infraorde Araneomorp
r: hae

Family: Thomisidae

Genus: Misumena

Species: M. vatia
 Binomial name

Misumena vatia

(Clerck, 1757)

Synonyms

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List

Misumena vatia is a species of crab spider with a holarctic distribution. In

North America, it is called the goldenrod crab spider or flower (crab) spider,[1]
as it is commonly found hunting in goldenrod sprays and milkweed plants.
They are called crab spiders because of their unique ability to walk sideways
as well as forwards and backwards. Both males and females of this species
progress through several molts before reaching their adult sizes, though
females must molt more to reach their larger size. Females can grow up to 10
mm (0.39 in) while males are quite small, reaching 5 mm (0.20 in) at most.
Misumena vatia are usually yellow or white or a pattern of these two colors.
They may also present with pale green or pink instead of yellow, again, in a
pattern with white. They have the ability to change between these colors
based on their surroundings through the molting process. They have a
complex visual system, with eight eyes, that they rely on for prey capture and
for their color-changing abilities. Sometimes, if Misumena vatia consumes
colored prey, the spider itself will take on that color.