spider with a screaming man’s face
I shot these photos just off the Natchez Trace Parkway in southern Tennessee. The flower that these creatures were on was only about one inch in diameter. I’ve looked for information about this spider everywhere I can think of, but to no avail. I was intrigued with the screaming man’s face on the spider’s abdomen and if it really had the audacity to take on the ant that it seemed to be stalking. Can you possibly help in idintifying this very interesting animal.
RONNIE B
Hi Ronnie,
We quickly matched your spider to an image on BugGuide of a Flower Spider in the genus Misumenops. These spiders in the family Thomisidae. They do not build webs. The Flower Spiders are quite interesting in that they wait on flowers for pollinating insects. are Crab Spiders in the family