Misumena vatia
Copyright, Peter Bryant
The Goldenrod Spider is a
member of the crab spider family. It is best known for its
ability to change its color from white to yellow in order to
camouflage
among flowers. The female is the one
most often seen. She is either yellow or white, depending on
where she is, with red streaks on her abdomen. The male is dark
reddish-brown, with a whitish abdomen with dark red streaks.
The male is smaller (about 1/8 inch) than the female (up to
3/8 inch). Goldenrod Spiders are
found wherever there are yellow and white flowers,
especially goldenrod and daisies. This is usually in a field
or garden. Copyright, Tanya
Sewell
Copyright, Joseph Dougherty, California Academy of Sciences
Copyright, Ed
Nieuwenhays Goldenrod Spiders eat
insects, either by hunting on the ground, or by ambushing
from a flower. They especially attack bees, butterflies, and
flies which visit flowers for nectar.
Grasshoppers and other plant-eating insects are also
frequent prey. Goldenrod Spiders have
small jaws which contain venom.
This venom allows them to take on animals much larger than
them. Usually, the Goldenrod
Spider grabs its prey with its front legs and injects the
venom. It then sucks all the body fluids from its
prey.
Copyright 2001, Troy Bartlett (http://troyb.com/photo/index.htm)
Goldenrod Spiders can
walk forwards, backwards, or sideways. They do not build
webs. After mating, female
Goldenrod Spiders will spin a silk sac to hold eggs. This is
done by folding a leaf over the eggs and wrapping the silk
around it. The female usually dies
before the young spiderlings hatch. They are on their own
from the moment they are born. Copyright, Ed
Nieuwenhays
