The Nearctic Spider Database, http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/30580

Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757)
goldenrod crab spider

FAMILY: THOMISIDAE Sundevall, 1833
    Genus: Misumena Latreille, 1804

        Species: Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757)

Author of this page: Hancock, John (Page complete and awaiting review)

General Comments: This species is an ambush predators of pollinating insects. Sexes very different from each other. Female capable of changing colour white - orange or orange to white, but slowly.

Common Names

Family Common Name:  crab spiders
Genus Common Name:  flower crab spiders
Species Common Name:  goldenrod crab spider

Distribution

Global Distribution: Holarctic
Nearctic States & Provinces:   AB BC QC YT AK CA CO IL MT NH NC OK SC SD UT WA WI WY
Collection Locales Mapped by Year Collected: 


Natural History, Phenology & Image(s)

Feeding Guild:  ambushers
Feeding guild when noted defined by Uetz, G. W., J. Halaj, and A. B. Cady. 1999. Guild structure of spiders in major crops. Journal of Arachnology 27:270-280.
Recorded Habitats:  M. vatia occupies many species of flowering plant's flower heads and will retreat underneath petals or among them.
Life & Natural History:  (not yet recorded or unknown)

Seasonality of Specimen Records:


Image(s) of Habitus:


Credit: Bryan, Nora


Credit: Murray, Tom

Details About Males

Description:  Carapace red to red-brown, dorsum of abdomen whitish yellow with paired red longitudinal bands. Legs I and II red brown with yellow rings, legs III and IV yellow.

Male Dimensions:

A+B = 3 mm  A = 1.43 mm  C = 1.46 mm 

Image of External Male Genitalia:


Credit: Hancock, John

Details About Females

Description:  Much larger. Carapace and abdomen can be either yellow or white, with red or pink longitudinal stripes on abdomen.

Female Dimensions:

A+B = 8 mm  A = 3.03 mm  C = 2.97 mm 

Image of Epigynum:


Credit: Hancock, John

Synonyms and Chresonyms

Araneus vatius Clerck 1757
Misumena vatia Clerck 1757
Aranea calycina Linnaeus 1758
Misumena vatia Clerck 1758
Aranea 4-lineata Linnaeus 1761
Aranea hasselquistii Scopoli 1763
Aranea kleinii Scopoli 1763
Aranea osbekii Scopoli 1763
Aranea uddmanni Scopoli 1763
Aranea scorpiformis Fabricius 1775
Aranea virginea Müller 1776
Aranea albonigricans Martini & Goeze 1778
Aranea citrea De Geer 1778
Aranea quinquepunctata Martini & Goeze 1778
Aranea sulphereoglobosa Martini & Goeze 1778
Aranea sulphurea Martini & Goeze 1778
Aranea citrina Fourcroy 1785
Aranea calicina Olivier 1789
Aranea cretata Preyssler 1791
Aranea albonigricans Panzer 1804
Aranea quinquepunctata Panzer 1804
Misumena citrea Latreille 1804
Thomisus calycinus Walckenaer 1805
Thomisus citreus Walckenaer 1805
Thomisus dauci Walckenaer 1805
Thomisus dauci Hahn 1820
Thomisus calycinus Hahn 1831
Thomisus citreus Hahn 1831
Thomisus citreus Hahn 1832
Thomisus pratensis Hahn 1832
Thomisus spinipes Brullé 1832
Thomisus citreus Sundevall 1833
Thomisus pratensis Hahn 1833
Thomisus quadrilineatus Hahn 1833
Thomisus scorpiformis Hahn 1833
Thomisus calycinus C. L. Koch 1837
Thomisus citreus georgiensis Walckenaer 1837
Thomisus phrygiatus Walckenaer 1837
Thomisus viridis Walckenaer 1837
Thomisus devius C. L. Koch 1845
Thomisus fartus Hentz 1847
Thomisus vatius Thorell 1856
Thomisus citreus Blackwall 1861
Thomisus vatius Westring 1861
Pachyptile devia Simon 1864
Thomisus calycinus Prach 1866
Thomisus cucurbitinus Sordelli 1868
Misumena vatia Thorell 1872
Misumena vatia Menge 1876
Misumena vatia Becker 1882
Misumena vatia Hansen 1882
Misumena vatia Emerton 1892
Misumena vatia McCook 1894
Misumena vatia Simon 1895
Misumena vatia F. O. P.-Cambridge 1900
Misumena vatia Bösenberg 1902
Misumena vatia Emerton 1902
Misumena calycina Bösenberg & Strand 1906
Misumena vatia occidentalis Kulczynski 1911
Misumena personata Simon 1916
Misumena calycina Reimoser 1929
Misumena occidentalis Simon 1932
Misumena occidentalis Denis 1934
Misumena calycina Gertsch 1939
Misumena vatia Chickering 1940
Misumena vatia Comstock 1940
Misumena calycina Muma 1943
Misumena calycina Chamberlin & Ivie 1944
Misumena calycina Tullgren 1944
Misumena calycina Kaston 1948
Misumena vatia Locket & Millidge 1951
Misumena vatia Zhu & Wang 1963
Misumena vatia Schick 1965
Misumena vatia Azheganova 1968
Misumena vatia Vilbaste 1969
Misumena vatia Miller 1971
Misumena vatia Braendegaard 1972
Misumena vatia Dondale & Redner 1978
Misumenops vatia Hu & Guo 1982
Misumena vatia Hidalgo 1983
Misumena vatia Loerbroks 1984
Misumenops vatia Hu 1984
Misumena vatia Roberts 1985
Misumena vatia Zhu et al. 1985
Misumenops vatia Guo 1985
Misumena vatia Yaginuma 1986
Misumena vatia Zhang 1987
Misumena vatia Ono 1988
Misumena vatia Chikuni 1989
Misumena vatia Heimer & Nentwig 1991
Misumena vatia Herreros 1991
Misumena vatia Danilov 1993
Misumena vatia Roberts 1995
Misumena vatia Urones 1996
Misumena vatia Mcheidze 1997
Misumena vatia Song & Zhu 1997
Misumena vatia Roberts 1998
Misumena vatia Song, Zhu & Chen 1999
Misumena vatia Kim & Gwon 2001
Misumena vatia Song, Zhu & Chen 2001
Misumena vatia Marusik & Logunov 2002
Misumena vatia Namkung 2002
Misumena vatia Namkung 2003
Misumena vatia Paquin & Dupérré 2003
Misumena vatia Lehtinen 2005
Misumena vatia Trotta 2005
Misumena vatia Almquist 2006

Taxonomic References

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Nomenclature and taxonomic references from the World Spider Catalog accessible at http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THOMISIDAE.html

Other Nearctic Members of Genus Misumena Latreille, 1804‡‡

M. fidelis Banks, 1898 ...............USA, Mexico

‡‡May also include species with Palearctic distribution

Page Reference:

Hancock, John. submitted. Taxonomic and natural history description of FAM: THOMISIDAE, Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757). In: The Nearctic Spider Database. David P. Shorthouse (editor). World Wide Web electronic publication. Direct link: http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/30580 (Accessed: 7/20/2008 4:02:47 PM).

Author Email Address: spidermanjohn@shaw.ca
Text Last Modified: 2006-03-29T17:28:22Z