Categories

Tiny pale green spider on forest floor…
Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 9:27 AM
I was examining a scrape on the forest floor, looking for hair when I found this tiny little spider! It coudnt be bigger than a centimeter across the longest point (wish I had had a coin with me for size reference). It walked sideways like a crab. When disturbed it pulled its legs in and tried to look inconspicuous. After I got done taking pictures it crawled to the underside of a leaf and hid.
Dana
Athens, Georgia

Crab Spider

Hi Dana,
This is a Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae.  We are not certain of the genus or species, but we would hesitate a guess at the genus Misumenops as evidenced by images posted to BugGuide.  Crab Spiders do not build hunting webs.  They ambush their prey using camouflage techniques.

Related Posts

1. Bark Crab Spider perhaps (October 4, 2008)
2. Crab Spider ambushes Fiery Skipper (May 17, 2007)
3. Crab Spider (September 14, 2008)
4. Crab Spider Eats Gulf Fritillary (September 28, 2008)
5. Crab Spider: Possibly Bark Crab Spider (May 3, 2009)