The green crab spider, belonging to the Thomisidae or crab spiders family is found in parts of the United States and Canada.
Size: Females are 0.12 -0.27 in (0.30-0.68 cm) and males are half the size of the females. Females are 0.12 – 0.27 inches (0.30-0.68 cm), while males are half their size.
Color: They have a light or emerald green body, with red bands on both sides of their abdomen, that might or might not be present.
Other Characteristic Features: The abdomen appears slender with a kite-like or diamond pattern.
A female green crab spider lays eggs in silk sacs protecting them as long as she lives, since most of them die before the spiderlings hatch.
After overwintering, the eggs hatch in the following spring.
Green crab spiders do not make webs to catch prey. Both the sexes spin silk for different purposes. The males cover their mate with the silk whose size could be double theirs. Whereas, the female green crab spiders use it to make the sac for laying eggs.
Green crab spiders are venomous to their preys but not to humans.
| Distribution | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina |
| Habitat | Grasslands, woodlands, backyards of the house, garages |
| Diet | Smaller spiders, moths, centipedes, millipedes and insects |
| Lifespan | Around 1 year |
| Predators | Birds, bigger spiders, ants, wasps, and lizards |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not Listed |
Image Credits: Nature.mdc.mo.gov, Farm4.staticflickr.com, Bugguide.net
The green crab spider, belonging to the Thomisidae or crab spiders family is found in parts of the United States and Canada.
Size: Females are 0.12 -0.27 in (0.30-0.68 cm) and males are half the size of the females. Females are 0.12 – 0.27 inches (0.30-0.68 cm), while males are half their size.
Color: They have a light or emerald green body, with red bands on both sides of their abdomen, that might or might not be present.
Other Characteristic Features: The abdomen appears slender with a kite-like or diamond pattern.
A female green crab spider lays eggs in silk sacs protecting them as long as she lives, since most of them die before the spiderlings hatch.
After overwintering, the eggs hatch in the following spring.
Green crab spiders do not make webs to catch prey. Both the sexes spin silk for different purposes. The males cover their mate with the silk whose size could be double theirs. Whereas, the female green crab spiders use it to make the sac for laying eggs.
Green crab spiders are venomous to their preys but not to humans.
| Distribution | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina |
| Habitat | Grasslands, woodlands, backyards of the house, garages |
| Diet | Smaller spiders, moths, centipedes, millipedes and insects |
| Lifespan | Around 1 year |
| Predators | Birds, bigger spiders, ants, wasps, and lizards |
| IUCN Conservation Status | Not Listed |
Image Credits: Nature.mdc.mo.gov, Farm4.staticflickr.com, Bugguide.net
