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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

White Banded Crab Spider

What arachnid is yellow & black in CALIF but not a garden spider?
November 4, 2009
What arachnid is yellow & black in CALIF but not a garden spider?
• Your letter to the bugman    I found this arachnid on the head of an acquaintance last week so I flicked it out of his hair with my finger. I looked all over to see where it landed but couldn’t find it. This morning I went out to my truck and it was on my front seat! I’m in Santa Cruz, California.
Please help me identify it.
Thank you, James
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

White Banded Crab Spider

White Banded Crab Spider

Hi James,
Your spider is a highly variable White Banded Crab Spider, Misumenoides formosipes, and it is harmless.  There are several matching images on BugGuide.

Posted 05 November 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Running Crab Spider

Green spider captured
Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I captured this spider at my wife’s request, it was sitting inside the carport.
Haven’t seen a green one before but have seen brown ones.
Steve
Kearns, utah

Nursery Web Spider???

probably Running Crab Spider

Hi Steve,
We believe this is a Nursery Web Spider in the family Pisauridae, which includes the Fishing Spiders. These are large spiders and your photo does not indicate scale, nor does your letter provide any indication of the size. We are uncertain of the exact identification, but we do believe the family is correct. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to provide more specific information.

Update from Eric Eaton
Daniel:
Hard to tell, especially without a size being given, but I would suspect this is actually a running crab spider in the genus Tibellus, family Philodromidae.  A close-up of the eye arrangement would also be telling…..
Eric

Posted 09 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Crab Spider: Possibly Bark Crab Spider

primitive looking spider
Sat, May 2, 2009 at 10:58 PM
I live in the middle of a woodland forest in Mendocino County, northern California. All types of bugs find their way in my house. I promptly put them in a jar and take them back into the woods, mostly beautiful wolf spiders. But this certain spider I’ve never seen before (please see photo). It looks primitive to me, almost crab-like. Can you identify it? That would be amazing! I’d love to know what it is.
nat
Mendocino County, CA, woodlands

Crab Spider

Crab Spider

Hi Nat,
This is most certainly a Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae, and we believe it is a Bark Crab Spider in the genus Bassaniana based on a photo posted to BugGuide.  BugGuide does not list this genus in California, but the range is quite great, from coast to coast.  Like Wolf Spiders, Crab Spiders do not build snare webs.  Rather they are hunting spiders.

Posted 03 May 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Giant Crab Spider riddled with Fungus, we believe

Found possible rare “mold” looking spider in Papua New Guinea
Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 7:14 PM
I recently returned from six weeks of work in the Papua New Guinea jungle, mostly in the Southern Highlands. While we came across many strange bugs and spiders, none were more strange than this one. I have so far been been unable to find any photos resembling anything like this species and am wondering if we may have stumbled upon something very rare or unnamed (I’m sure you get this question often). The spider was about 5 cm across and covered with fine hair, which makes it look out of focus in the photo. Evolution clearly intended this spider to look like a patch of mold. As you’ll see, the abdomen is distinctly concave and looks like a thin plate of mold. It was resting on a live tree covered in red paper-like bark. Even the locals seemed interested, leading me to believe this wasn’t an everyday sighting. As a g eologist, I know it’s imperative to include a scale, but unfortunately I forgot as I was preoccupied with work. I’m very curious to hear what you’ve got to say.
Thanks,
Brian
Near the Tari Basin, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea

Spider infested with Fungus

Spider infested with Fungus

Hi Brian,
We believe, based on its shape, that your spider is one of the Giant Crab Spiders in the family Sparassidae, but we don’t believe it is a living specimen. It is our opinion that this spider is riddled with fungus, leading to its unusual appearance. Many spiders and insects are killed by fungus infections.

Update:  Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 8:32 PM
Daniel,
Thanks for the quick response.  The possibility of this being a dead animal had not crossed my, nor the others I was with.  After looking at the image again, I noticed the spider is only attached to the tree with four legs, resting in a vertical position on a live tree.  Could he be dead and still be attached with no apparent web etc?  I’ve attached the full-sized image and filtered out some of the noise.  Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Brian Gray
Staff Geologist
URS Corporation

Hi Brian,
We are sticking to our original ID.  The fungus may have grown onto the leaf, attaching the spider.

Posted 26 April 2009 § attack of the fungus ‡ Comments (0) °

Crab Spider Eats Skipper

misumenoides formosipes eats butterfly
Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Hi,
I found this crab spider at my aunt’s house in central Oklahoma last summer. I’m pretty sure it’s misumenoides formosipes, but I’m not positive. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures. Thanks for the great site!
Josh Kouri
Oklahoma City, Ok

Crab Spider eats Skipper

Crab Spider eats Skipper

Hi Josh,
We believe you have correctly identified your spider as Misumenoides formosipes, the White Banded Crab Spider.  This is a highly variable species and simply perusing some of the images submitted to BugGuide will reveal the many color variations.  It is not true that Crab Spiders can change their coloration with their surroundings.  What is more likely is that the offspring that match the color of the surroundings are more likely to survive to adulthood.  At any rate, your photo nicely illustrates how closely a Crab Spider is capable of matching its surroundings, and how effective this is in capturing prey.  It appears the butterfly in your photo is a Skipper.

Crab Spider

Crab Spider

Posted 06 February 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Crab Spider eats unknown Moth in South Africa

Poor guy
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 8:22 AM
Any idea for either the moth or spider?
Photographed in the Langeberg Range in South Africa in montane fynbos ecosystem. Photo is attached
Brett
Langeberg Range in South Africa

Crab Spider catches Moth

Crab Spider catches Moth

Hi again Brett,
We haven’t a clue about the moth, but the spider is a Crab Spider in the family Thomisidae. Crab Spiders don’t build webs, and many species sit camouflaged in flowers awaiting pollinating insects.

Update: Crab Spider eats unknown Moth in South Africa
Tue, Jan 6, 2009
Hi Daniel:
I can’t resist a twofer. The photo provides only a partial underside view of the moth, which looks like a Geometrid to me. Unfortunately, from the perspective of providing an identification, West Cape Province has over a 100 species of Geometridae and South Africa as a whole apparently has over 1000 species, most of them dressed in cryptic grays and sepias. The spider is indeed in the Thomisidae family, likely a flower crab spider in the genus Thomisus , of which there are at least 15 to choose from. The closest match I could find was T. citrinellus . Regards.
Karl

Posted 07 January 2009 § Moths ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Crab Spider

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

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.

Posted 03 November 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °