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Northern Crab Spider

Mecaphesa asperata

Photo by chesterbperry
Published on Project Noah
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34.9968, -85.1845

Field Notes

Description:

Spider hiding out in an Indian Pipe flower

Species ID Suggestions

Northern Crab Spider

Misumenops asperatus
JennieDoomsday
2

Comments (6)
chesterbperry
According to bugguide.net it was changed in 2008. Keeping up with taxonomy can sometimes be a challenge, I often wonder if I should subscribe to couple publications just to stay current.
JennieDoomsday
Oh, have they changed the genus name? I found "Misumenops" in one of my spider books by the National Wildlife Federation. I hope it's not outdated because I use it for a lot of identification.
chesterbperry
Thank you Jennie, I knew it was crab, but could not decide on species, thanks for kicking it in gear ;)
JennieDoomsday
From its little face (cutie), it really looks like a Northern Crab Spider (Misumenops asperatus). The color is right...and I THINK I see the stripes on his carapace, but it's difficult to tell from this picture. Because the photo wasn't shot from above, I can't really see the shape of his legs. It's always that wacky lack shape that give away the crab spiders.
Maria dB
I can't see the spider too well but the flower is really interesting!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
International Spider Survey
Mission
Spiders of Tennessee
Mission
Biodiversity of SouthEastern US
Mission
Biodiversity of Audubon Acres
Photographed
PublishedSeptember 18, 2013

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