Spiders of North Carolina

Arachnids of North Carolina

Order:
Scientific Name: Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

Misumena vatia - goldenrod crab spider Thomisidae Members:			NC Records	BugGuide Account	Public View

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Distribution Records
PDF

Vetting Levels

Adult phenology:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge

synonym

taxonomic_comments

Described in 1757 as vatius from the Latin vati, which can mean either "bow-legged" or "prophet." It was originally placed in the genus Araneus (hence the initial "vatius" for gender agreement), but back then, almost all spiders were called "Araneus something-or-other." In 1804, it was placed in the genus Misumena (meaning "being hated"), only to bounce around nomenclaturally with >20 names for the better part of that century. It was ultimately restored to Misumena in 1872, where it has remained with only trivial exception.

species_comment

Adult M. vatia have been shown to change colors to match the flowers where they rest, motionless, in ambush of their prey: Their color shifting is not rapid, but can take days.

id_comments

Similar in appearance to Misumenoides formosipes (q.v.), but Misumenoides has a "carina," i.e. a prominent, transverse, white ridge on the clypeus, while Misumena vatia does not.

total_length

Females 6.0-9.0mm, males 2.9-4.0mm

structural_features

silk_web

None. It is an ambush hunter.

fld_guide_descriptions

The female prosoma can be white to yellow, sometimes with broad bands of green to brown. The eye region is usually yellow to orange. The female opisthosoma is yellow to white. When yellow, a pair of green bands may start near the pedicel and run along the lateral edge to about halfway down. If the opisthosoma is white, pink to red bands may be located in this area. The legs are white to yellow.

The male prosoma is purple brown, sometimes with a broad pale median band. The eye region is white to pink. The opisthosoma is cream white to yellow, with brown spots on either side of the midline toward the posterior; there is a dark ring around the lateral edges of brown to red. The first two pairs of legs are purple brown, and sometimes there is pale banding on the distal segments. The legs are proportionally much longer in the males than the females. The other legs are yellow. The spiders use the spines on the first two pairs of legs to help them grab their prey. (Rose, 2022)

online_photos

prey

Mostly insect visitors to blooming flowers—including those much larger than itself.

predators

behavior

distribution_reference

Bradley, Richard A. 2013. Common Spiders of North America. 1st Edition. University of California Press; Berkley & Los Angeles, California, USA.

technical_reference

Comstock, J. H. (1940). The spider book, revised and edited by W. J. Gertsch. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, 727 pp.

adult_id

1 identifiable by photo 2 identifiable by photo of specific features and/or supplementary info 3 identifiable from specimen only

abundance

distribution_comments

Found nationwide, well into Canada and North to Alaska.

checklist_mt_high
>=4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom	Frequency Regular – almost always observed on given visit; >=90% chance of observation Frequent – usually observed on a given visit; >=50%<90% chance of observation Infrequent – observed less than 50% of visits; >=25%<50% chance of observation Occasional – observed on only on a small minority of visits; >=10%<25% chance of observation Seldom – not usually seen on visits; <10% chance of observation These terms refer to visits to appropriate habitats made at appropriate times of the year, making use of common sampling/observation methods. Under those conditions, Frequency refers to the chance of observing at least one individual on a given visit made anywhere within a particular region, or over multiple visits to a single site.

checklist_mt_low
<4,000 ft.

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_pd
Piedmont

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

checklist_cp
Coastal Plain

Regular	Frequent	Infrequent	Occasional	Seldom

habitat

old field, forest

observation_methods

state_protection

NHP_ranks

NHP_status

status_comments

Photo Gallery for Misumena vatia goldenrod crab spider
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment: 4 babies and 1 adult female. Rolled up in black locust leaflet.
	Recorded by: Lauren Demko Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger, Jim Petranka, and Becky Elkin Mitchell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Mitchell Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp Johnston Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wayne Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Richmond Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger McDowell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger McDowell Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger Wilson Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Avery Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn McDowell Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn McDowell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment: not great pic, best I could get
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton Buncombe Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Barbara McRae Macon Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Barbara McRae Macon Co. Comment: It was on a coneflower	Recorded by: C. Taunton Wake Co. Comment: NCMA
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: not sure about this one, but this was my best guess.	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: in Carolina Bay--could this be Misumena formosipes?
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: in Carolina Bay--could this be Misumena formosipes?	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Rockingham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Bladen Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: male
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: male	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman Scotland Co. Comment: male
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Avery Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Watauga Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn Avery Co. Comment:

Photo Gallery for Misumena vatia goldenrod crab spider