At the end of last week, I was out on a nature walk. I was specifically looking for insects since I’ve been so focused on all the beautiful flowers that are blooming this time of year. Now that the days are getting longer and warmer lots of insects, caterpillars, spiders, and moths are also becoming active. They tend to be more difficult to spot than flowers, so they haven’t been getting their fair share of the attention. It was a beautiful afternoon with plenty of sun, but not too hot, so why not go for a walk?

I have to say, it ended up being a highly successful walk, and I came home with some pictures that came out well, and added several species to my list. One of the most interesting things I came across while actually trying to photograph some grasshoppers was this green crab spider. It was “hiding” on the underside of a plant leaf, and I think it thought (if spiders think) that I couldn’t see it. It didn’t move while I was taking photos while it was under the leaf. When I tried to turn the leaf over to get some better shots of the body, it took off and it was pretty fast. I was able to follow it down onto the ground and get a few more shots before it hid itself again. This time under some leaves. I don’t like to harass my subjects, so I left it alone in it’s hiding spot.

Green crab spiders are very small spiders that hunt by hiding themselves in plants and especially in flowers where they ambush their prey when they come to feed. Their prey includes bees, small butterflies and moths, midges, and flies. They catch their prey with their strong, well developed front legs and inject them with venom. Even though they do have venom, their mouths are so small that they cannot bite people (most of the time you will never even see them!), so they can be considered a great asset in your garden since they eat a number of pest species (I.e. flies, midges, noseeums, etc.).

Even though there are many species of crab spiders that live in most habitats except extreme cold, and dry, hot deserts, the green crab spider is strictly a southeastern spider. It can only be found from South Carolina to Florida and west into Mississippi. All crab spiders somewhat resemble crabs with long forelegs and round bodies. Also like crabs they can move forward, backward, and side to side (most spiders can only go forwards and backwards). Interestingly, green crab spiders are also one of the few spiders that has the ability to change it’s coloration depending on it’s surroundings. That is definitely a big asset for it’s hunting style and for avoiding predators. What types of crab spiders do you have in your area?