Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Misumena - Flower Crab Spiders

Success - Misumena vatia Goldenrod Crab Spider - Misumena vatia - female Brightly colored Yellow Spider ... - Misumena vatia Yellow Spider Attacks Fly - Misumena vatia Goldenrod Crab Spider (White and Pink), 6:59pm - Misumena vatia - female Crab spider on encelia - Misumena vatia Rose Spider - Misumena vatia Misumena vatia eating ? - Misumena vatia
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Infraorder Araneomorphae (True Spiders)
No Taxon (Entelegynes)
Family Thomisidae (Crab Spiders)
Genus Misumena (Flower Crab Spiders)
Numbers
2 species in the USA & Canada.
Identification
Some closeups of facial images to aid in identification:

Misumena:
All four anterior (front) eyes are about the same size. When viewed from the front, and a little above, it seems all eight eyes are visible and form a crescent shape. The lateral eyes are on tubercles, but the posterior laterals are visible. See



Misumenoides:
All four anterior (front) eyes are about the same size. When viewed from the front, and a little above, only six eyes are visible. The posterior laterals are facing sideways and are on the ends of a long horizontal transverse ridge across the face. Eric says "Misumena has essentially no black markings (while Misumenoides may have some), which is how you can tell them apart in the field most easily." See



Misumenops:
The anterior lateral eyes are a little larger than the anterior median eyes. When viewed from the front, and a little above, only six eyes are visible. The posterior laterals are facing sideways and backwards on tubercles that include the anterior laterals. Misumenops is also often (always?) hairy. See



Comments, corrections, and suggestions most welcome. Please add them to discussion thread here.

Images by Tom Adams, Troy Bartlett, Derrick Ditchburn, Tony DiTerlizzi, Bill DuPree, Vincent J Hickey, Richard Leung, Paul F Wagner, Paul McNelis, and Chris Wirth
Range
vatia - USA, Canada
fidelis - USA - This species has not been redescribed since the original description
by Nathan Banks in 1898! It's not really clear if anyone but Banks has ever even seen one. (Rod Crawford)
Internet References