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Northern Crab Spider (Mecaphesa asperata)
Photo#672258
Copyright © 2012
Stephanie Sanchez
Crab Spider -
Mecaphesa asperata
Palm Beach County, Florida, USA
June 1, 2012
This crab spider is on Phyla Nodiflora eating a Pyrausta tyralis moth. Which crab spider is it?
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Contributed by
Stephanie Sanchez
on 11 July, 2012 - 7:52pm
Last updated 22 October, 2012 - 4:34pm
Moved tentatively
Moved from
Crab Spiders
. ID based on comments below.
…
Lynette Elliott
, 22 October, 2012 - 4:34pm
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Misumenops bellulus ?
or something similar? It reminds me of
…
Lynette Elliott
, 15 October, 2012 - 9:11am
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I'm thinking this is Mecaphes
I'm thinking this is Mecaphesa asperata. The distinct dark red banding along the lateral edges of the abdomen is often found in that species and is mentioned by Gertsch ("the sides with out without a red band"), but he doesn't mentioned this feature for Misumenops bellulus. Both the M. bellullus in the photos I submitted and a specimen collected by friends and confirmed by GB Edwards showed a "bleeding" together of the colors of the abdominal pattern along the sides, but there was no distinct solid band as on the Palm Beach County spider. That spider also showed in the anterior portion of the abdominal pattern somewhat of the "T" mark pointed out by Joe Lapp as indicative of asperata. But it will probably require the photographing of many more specimens of the two species--identified by genitalic examination--to confirm whether the features mentioned above prove to be reliable "in the field" for separating them.
…
Lyn Atherton
, 22 October, 2012 - 12:57pm
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Oh yes, we forgot that
some down in Florida are still in the genus Misumenops! Good catch.
…
john and jane balaban
, 15 October, 2012 - 11:47am
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Moved
Moved from
Spiders
.
…
Lynette Elliott
, 15 October, 2012 - 9:09am
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Moved
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…
john and jane balaban
, 5 August, 2012 - 8:29pm
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Nice heavily marked one
in the genus Mecaphesa. Joe may be able to say which one.
…
john and jane balaban
, 12 July, 2012 - 5:16pm
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