White banded crab spiders belong to the Thomisidae family. They are indigenous to parts of the United States as well as Canada. The white line or ridge-like appearance in the area near its face, below the eyes, earns the species its name.
Size: The females with a body length of 0.20 – 0.44 inches (5.0 – 11.3 mm) are larger than their male counterparts that are 0.10 – 0.13 inches (2.5 – 3.2 inches) long.
Color: The color is different in both sexes. The females may have a light brown, yellow or white body, with brown, black, or red abdominal markings (though absent in some). The males are mostly shiny red, green, or yellow, with black or dark brown front legs, and yellow or green hind legs, as well as a golden-colored abdomen. While the female has a variable color pattern, which changes at different stages of their life cycle, with the surroundings they are in, the males remain the same throughout. Both sexes have a white facial band, as mentioned above.
Other Characteristic Features: They have a wide abdomen that seems round or triangular when seen from above. Like most other species of their family, the first and second pairs of their legs are longer than the third and fourth.
Their egg sac is white, lens-shaped, with a diameter of 0.39 – 0.55 inches (10 – 14 mm), containing 80 – 180 tan-colored eggs.
Not much detail remains available about the spiderlings, but for the fact that they closely resemble adults after hatching.
Like other crab spider species, this one too does not spin webs but waits for their prey by hiding inside a flower.
Like most crab spiders, their venom does harm to preys of a smaller size than theirs. However, it is rendered harmless to humans, since they are too small to inject their venom inside the skin.
| Other Names | Ridge-faced flower spider |
| Distribution | Parts of the United States and Canada |
| Habitat | Mostly on flowers |
| Predators | Ant, wasps, birds and lizards |
| Diet | Mites, butterflies, and honeybees |
| Lifespan | Approximately 1 year |
Image Source: I.pinimg.com
White banded crab spiders belong to the Thomisidae family. They are indigenous to parts of the United States as well as Canada. The white line or ridge-like appearance in the area near its face, below the eyes, earns the species its name.
Size: The females with a body length of 0.20 – 0.44 inches (5.0 – 11.3 mm) are larger than their male counterparts that are 0.10 – 0.13 inches (2.5 – 3.2 inches) long.
Color: The color is different in both sexes. The females may have a light brown, yellow or white body, with brown, black, or red abdominal markings (though absent in some). The males are mostly shiny red, green, or yellow, with black or dark brown front legs, and yellow or green hind legs, as well as a golden-colored abdomen. While the female has a variable color pattern, which changes at different stages of their life cycle, with the surroundings they are in, the males remain the same throughout. Both sexes have a white facial band, as mentioned above.
Other Characteristic Features: They have a wide abdomen that seems round or triangular when seen from above. Like most other species of their family, the first and second pairs of their legs are longer than the third and fourth.
Their egg sac is white, lens-shaped, with a diameter of 0.39 – 0.55 inches (10 – 14 mm), containing 80 – 180 tan-colored eggs.
Not much detail remains available about the spiderlings, but for the fact that they closely resemble adults after hatching.
Like other crab spider species, this one too does not spin webs but waits for their prey by hiding inside a flower.
Like most crab spiders, their venom does harm to preys of a smaller size than theirs. However, it is rendered harmless to humans, since they are too small to inject their venom inside the skin.
| Other Names | Ridge-faced flower spider |
| Distribution | Parts of the United States and Canada |
| Habitat | Mostly on flowers |
| Predators | Ant, wasps, birds and lizards |
| Diet | Mites, butterflies, and honeybees |
| Lifespan | Approximately 1 year |
Image Source: I.pinimg.com
