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Flower crab spider (and dinner)

Misumena vartia

Photo by Elsa
Published on Project Noah
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58.8693, 9.41494

Field Notes

Description:

May be yellow or white depending on the flower they are found on. This one was perfectly camouflaged against the white flowers I spotted it on several days in a row. Here it has caught a hoverfly. The one in the picture was around 5mm, the maximum size for males. Females are larger, up to 10mm.

Habitat:

Found across the entire northern hemisphere. Common on daisies and sunflowers. Can change colour when they swap flowers.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)
Elsa
Agree Dangermouse, this one stayed put in the same location for ages. What was difficult was to get the focus right with AF as the spider is so similar in colour to its surroundings!
Dangermouse
Crab spiders seem to be some of the easiest to photograph, I've spotted two or three different types myself. I love this one, though, especially with his meal! Great photos.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
2011 Best Wildlife Photo
Mission
International Spider Survey
Photographed
PublishedJuly 31, 2011

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