Saturday, July 30, 2011

A Crab Spider

The coneflowers and other flowering plants in the perennial garden are full of life: skippers, bumblebees, other various bees and flies, and today a spider. A beautiful white spider with pink bands.


Isn't she beautiful? At bugguide.org I keyed this to a goldenrod crab spider, Misumena vatia. Apparently this spider can change color over several days from white to yellow depending on the color flower that it's sitting on. This spider, looking like a crab, lies in wait for its prey - unwitting flies and other insects; it does not build a web.
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2 comments:

  1. 1HappyHikerAugust 2, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    Ellen, I've said it before (and highly suspect I'll say it again in the future), I love your Blog! Each of your vignettes are interesting and informational.

    John

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ellen SnyderAugust 4, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    Thanks John! So much going on right now with the garden, work, and such I've been missing many days of blogging. Your comment inspires to go outside right now and look about the yard.

    ReplyDelete

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