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Misumena vatia is a species of crab spider found in Europe and North America. In North America, it is called the goldenrod crab spider or flower (crab) spider, [ 1 ] as it is commonly found hunting in goldenrod sprays and milkweed plants.
Misumena vatia, the goldenrod crab spider, is a North American species commonly seen hunting in goldenrod (Solidago) sprays in autumn. It can change its color between white and yellow to match the flower it is sitting on.
Some species sit on or beside flowers or fruit, where they grab visiting insects. Individuals of some species, such as Misumena vatia and Thomisus spectabilis, are able to change color over a period of some days, to match the flower on which they are sitting. Some species frequent promising positions among leaves or bark, where they await prey ...
Misumena vatia with fly ... Some members of the tribe can change body colour in the green-yellow-grey-white range to match the colour of the flower on which they are ...
For example, in Thomisus spectabilis, the method of camouflage is similar to the Misumena vatia, though T. spectabilis are visible to their prey, but not their predators. This species of crab spiders is UV reflective while the flower is UV absorbing creating a contrast between the spider and flower through the eyes of the pollinator. [4]
It is a species of the 'flower spiders', so-called because they generally hunt in similarly coloured flowers for visitors such as bees and flies, and is a much smaller nearctic relative of the better-known Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia).
The female Misumenoides formosipes, while similar to Misumena vatia, is not as large, and can be distinguished by the inverted 'V' marking on its back (with the point of the V closer to the cephalothorax) and the 'mask' over its eyes.
The ability of Thomisus spectabilis to change color is shared by Misumena, Diaea, and Runcinia spiders which are also members of the Thomisidae family and have high genetic relatedness with the Australian Crab spider. Misumena vatia is a close relative of T. spectabilis but instead has a holarctic distribution.