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Acting Crabby!!

Crab Spider

Acting Crabby!!
Location: Mid-Missouri
October 28, 2010 9:36 am
I found this green crab spider in a section of my yard that has a lot of insect activity. I have no doubts that this crab ended up with a nice meal. When I noticed her she was being pretty active which made it difficult to get any good images, but she did stop for a few brief moments. There was one time when I got a little too close that she made a move for me (for my camera actually), but overall, she was more than accommodating at ME being the pest.
I’m not too sure on my ID. Looking at the guide, the closest I can find is Misumessus oblongus, but there are discrepancies in all of the guide images I see. Mainly, the guide shows the head portion to be a greenish color with an opaque/white abdomen whereas mine has a more clear/opaque head with a whitish abdomen.
(The third image, while not as artistically perfect, shows a much better view of the body)
Signature: Nathanael Siders

Crab Spider

Hi Nathanael,
Thanks for submitting your beautiful images of a Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae.  We agree that it sure does resemble the images of Misumessus oblongus that are on BugGuide.  Crab Spiders like many other spiders can be highly variable in coloration and markings which probably aids in the survival of the species through adaptation to different environmental conditions.

Crab Spider

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