"Misumena vatia" is a species of crab spider with holarctic distribution. In North America, where it is the largest and best-known flower spider, it is called the goldenrod crab spider or flower spider, because it is commonly found hunting in goldenrod sprays in the autumn.
Similar species: Spiders
By gary fast
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Uploaded Apr 20, 2020. Captured Apr 19, 2020 18:49 in 315 Whaletown Rd, Whaletown, BC V0P 1Z0, Canada.
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Can you see it? Camouflage is the goldenrod crab spider’s main defense against predators. This species can be yellow or white, changing color to better match the flower it’s lurking on! The ability of these spiders (females only though) to change color to match their background is called adaptive camouflage. The color-changing process isn’t instantaneous, but can take many days. And, it’s completely reversible.
A day in the life of a crab spider goes something like this: It sits on a flower, fantastically camouflaged, and waits for prey to pass by, which it grabs. Their fangs are small, but size doesn’t matter when you have venom. And, crab spiders do indeed have venom. They inject the prey with venom, thus immobilizing it. They don’t wrap their prey with silk or stick it to a web; instead, they simply suck out all of the prey’s bodily fluids…kind of like a smoothie made of guts. And, don’t worry— crab spiders feed only on invertebrates. They are harmless to humans.
Crabs spiders have a worldwide distribution, so the next time you’re exploring in nature, check out some flowers to see if you can spot one! {Misumena vatia spotted in British Columbia, Canada by Gary Fast} #JungleDragon #Goldenrodcrabspider #Misumenavatia #adaptivecamouflage
https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife/ Posted 5 years ago