Male White-banded Crab Spider

September 8, 2025

Last night I sent you a post about a female White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes). This is the male of the species, which is quite a bit smaller than the female. Her body length is between 1/4 to 1/2 inch, and his body length is 1/10 inch. Though she is able to change color, he doesn’t have that ability.

Both the male and females are ambush predators, eating bees, flies, butterflies, and other small arthropods. The male will also supplement his diet with pollen and nectar.

This male is sitting on Asters.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.