Misumena vatia
The goldenrod crab spider is what my focus is this week! Another name that is used for this creature is the flower spider. It is yellow all around, and the young females can change colors at will, but over a long period of time. Changing from white to yellow take a little less than a month, about 10-25 days, while changing from yellow to white takes only about six. The reason crab spiders can change colors is because of a liquid yellow pigment they make secreting into the cells of the spider. It takes longer time to change from white to yellow, because the spider has to make the pigment before she can distribute it into her cells. The crab spider usually lives in flowers such as dandelions, which they blend in well with the petals, and sometimes the females will go to daisies, and change color to white. In spring and summer, the crab spider will eat bees and wasps pollinating the flower that little Miss Spider lives in. Crab spiders in general are called so because their front legs curve forward, much like the claws of a crab. In the picture above, the crab spider is pretending to be a flower. This may happen if one cannot find a flower to latch onto. Crab spider eggs are lain in late spring and summer. They will also eat mites, flies, butterflies, and pretty much anything it can get it's mouth on.
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