White-banded Crab Spider (Misumenoides formosipes). The body length of a female is about 1/4 inch to almost 1/2 inch. The body of a male is about 1/10 inch. The color of a female, who has the ability to change color – could be yellow, white or pale brown. That color will depend on where the spider is sitting, and what color is surrounding the spider. There is sometimes a marking on the abdomen of the female that is red, brown, or black.
The male White-banded Crab Spider has a shiny caramel-colored abdomen and the cephalothorax (or upper body) is yellow, green or red. Both the abdomen and the cephalothorax remain the same color throughout the male spider’s life. Its long front four legs are darker than the back legs.
This spider is not associated with spinning a web. It will simply sit on a flower and wait for its prey to come by and the spider will ambush its dinner. Beware! Who knows what lurks in those flowers!
