The Goldenrod Crab Spider is a species of color-changing flower spiders. These creatures do not spin webs, but use silk to capture the prey or hold the eggs. They are known to have a good vision and are chance predators. Known by many other names like flower spider, flower crab spider, and smooth flower crab spider, they are mostly seen during bright and sunny summer days, the time when pollinators are present.
Size: Female body length 8-10 mm; male 4-5 mm (excluding legs).
Color: The diet and environment of the creature affect its overall body color. The colors vary greatly, ranging from yellow to pale green to white. They have the ability to change the body color, depending upon their environment or the flower they are sitting upon, over the course of a few days. They use their color changing ability both for offense against their prey, as also defense against predators.
Other Characteristic Features: The two pairs of front legs are longer than the others. All the legs are spread out from the two sides like a crab, which has gained the family its name. The female of the species has red dorso-lateral stripes on the abdomen that the males lack.
After mating, the female spider lays a sac of eggs, generally under a leaf. It wraps the egg sac in silk and a folded leaf. The female guards the eggs till they hatch, which takes around three weeks, after which it dies.
When born, the juveniles look very much the same as their adult counterparts, except for their tiny size. As they grow up, they undergo the process of molting. The baby spiders reach a size of about 5 mm by autumn, and spend their time on the ground with the arrival of the winter season. As the summer sets in the following year, the young ones molt for the last time, in around May.
Their poison is fatal to the insects and can numb them within a few seconds. However, it is not known to cause harm to humans, except for some symptoms including redness, rashes, itching and/or burning, all of which disappear with simple local medications.
| Lifespan | Not known, but probably around two years |
| Distribution | North America, Europe, northern parts of Asia |
| Habitat | Mostly found on flowers including sunflowers, daisies, as well as flowers of herbs and shrubs, and at times, on leaves. They are often located in grasslands and meadows, clearings, human-made city gardens, wetlands, and various other non-forest habitats |
| Common predators | Lizards, birds, large species of wasps, ants, other spiders, as well as shrews |
| Diet | Mostly insects that visit flowers including bees, smaller wasps, butterflies, grasshoppers, and flies. |
Image Credit: C1.staticflickr.com, Animalsofupstateny.weebly.com, Rodplanck.com, Magickcanoe.com, Projectnoah.org,
Ohioline.osu.edu, Jungledragon.com, Centralcoastbiodiversity.org, Btweenblinks.files.wordpress.com
The Goldenrod Crab Spider is a species of color-changing flower spiders. These creatures do not spin webs, but use silk to capture the prey or hold the eggs. They are known to have a good vision and are chance predators. Known by many other names like flower spider, flower crab spider, and smooth flower crab spider, they are mostly seen during bright and sunny summer days, the time when pollinators are present.
Size: Female body length 8-10 mm; male 4-5 mm (excluding legs).
Color: The diet and environment of the creature affect its overall body color. The colors vary greatly, ranging from yellow to pale green to white. They have the ability to change the body color, depending upon their environment or the flower they are sitting upon, over the course of a few days. They use their color changing ability both for offense against their prey, as also defense against predators.
Other Characteristic Features: The two pairs of front legs are longer than the others. All the legs are spread out from the two sides like a crab, which has gained the family its name. The female of the species has red dorso-lateral stripes on the abdomen that the males lack.
After mating, the female spider lays a sac of eggs, generally under a leaf. It wraps the egg sac in silk and a folded leaf. The female guards the eggs till they hatch, which takes around three weeks, after which it dies.
When born, the juveniles look very much the same as their adult counterparts, except for their tiny size. As they grow up, they undergo the process of molting. The baby spiders reach a size of about 5 mm by autumn, and spend their time on the ground with the arrival of the winter season. As the summer sets in the following year, the young ones molt for the last time, in around May.
Their poison is fatal to the insects and can numb them within a few seconds. However, it is not known to cause harm to humans, except for some symptoms including redness, rashes, itching and/or burning, all of which disappear with simple local medications.
| Lifespan | Not known, but probably around two years |
| Distribution | North America, Europe, northern parts of Asia |
| Habitat | Mostly found on flowers including sunflowers, daisies, as well as flowers of herbs and shrubs, and at times, on leaves. They are often located in grasslands and meadows, clearings, human-made city gardens, wetlands, and various other non-forest habitats |
| Common predators | Lizards, birds, large species of wasps, ants, other spiders, as well as shrews |
| Diet | Mostly insects that visit flowers including bees, smaller wasps, butterflies, grasshoppers, and flies. |
Image Credit: C1.staticflickr.com, Animalsofupstateny.weebly.com, Rodplanck.com, Magickcanoe.com, Projectnoah.org,
Ohioline.osu.edu, Jungledragon.com, Centralcoastbiodiversity.org, Btweenblinks.files.wordpress.com
