Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Flower Crab Spider

This small green Crab Spider crawled along a single line from a holly bush to our air conditioner, where it clung to the grate, hoping I would leave. I've tried my best to identify the species...I'm thinking Misumessus (Misumenops) oblongus or Misumena vatia (Goldenrod Crab Spider), though I won't rule out Misumenoides formosipes (Whitebanded Crab Spider). The arrangement of the eyes is diagnostic, but I wasn't able to get close enough for that. You can see, however, that this spider's eyes are in a white crescent. The abdomen is also slightly dimpled and flat, though it does rise a little above the cephalothorax. It doesn't seem hairy enough to be Mecaphesa.

Apparently there's been a lot of taxonomic revision with these spiders, so the names keep changing. If you know for sure what this spider is, please let me know. It could even be a young male.


References:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6749 (Misumena vs. Misumenoides vs. Mecaphesa)
http://eol.org/pages/1209081/overview (Misumenops oblongus)
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/foliage-flower-spiders
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Misumena_vatia/
http://www.arkive.org/crab-spider/misumena-vatia/
http://www.spiders.us/guide/species/misumenoides-formosipes/
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1636/Hi11-94.1 (specificity of floral attraction in Misumenoides formosipes)

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