Subject: Identification of strange insect
Geographic location of the bug: Starkville, MS
Date: 10/22/2017
Time: 01:33 PM EDT
I found this crab-like spider maybe? That’s what it looks like anyway I was too scared to count the legs. The web was thick green and not silky like a spider web
How you want your letter signed: Alexandra B
Dear Alexandra,
The Crablike Spiny Orbweaver is spider that poses no threat to humans. The spider has variable coloration in shades of black, white, red and yellow. According to BugGuide: “This species of spider does not live very long. In fact, the lifespan only lasts until reproduction, which usually takes place the spring following the winter when they hatched. Females die after producing an egg mass, and males die six days after a complete cycle of sperm induction to the female” and “This spider adds little tufts of silk to its web. According to Florida’s Fabulous Spiders ‘these little flags serve a warning function to prevent birds from flying into the web, destroying it.‘”