Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757) Discussion

goldenrod crab spider

Comments on May 15, 2007 Observation

Bev Wigney
45.1465, -75.6088
3

Submitted: May 17, 2007 at 3:34:35 PM MST

Several juvenile spiders found on dandelion and salix flowers. They may well be Misumena vatia, although they are not showing lateral pink markings on the abdomen (perhaps these are absent on juvenile spiders? -- EDIT: See notes below -- in fact, young spiders do not usually have the bright red markings seen on adults). The young spider found on the salix had captured a very tiny diptera of some kind. I've uploaded its photo, and am providing the following links to the other young spiders in case anyone wants to take a look at them and comment on whether all of these look to be M. vatia, or if they might be one of the other closely related species. http://www.pbase.com/crocodile/image/78841226, http://www.pbase.com/image/78841239

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Bev Wigney wrote on May 22, 2007 at 4:44:02 AM MST

Quoting Jimmy Sherwood: undefined Quote End

Hi Jimmy - Good. I'd like to hear more about when they seem to develop markings. I'm trying to watch for young spiders here at the farm and take photos to see if most of the spiders seem to be growing and developing at the same rate throughout summer. It might be interesting as yet another phenology marker. I hope you're taking some photos of your observations! (-:

Jimmy Sherwood wrote on May 21, 2007 at 9:08:36 AM MST

I have also noticed that some of them are different colors and smaller. I'm watching one right now and kinda tracking it's movements.

Bev Wigney wrote on May 17, 2007 at 3:22:55 PM MST

David - I just had a brief look for an answer yesterday, but spent more time looking around just now and found the answer on pages 25 and 26. In a nutshell, adult females have stripes, but penultimates and perhaps even younger females may have stripes too, but they may look brown instead of the typical bright red. So, these small spiders that look just like Misumena vatia without stripes are, in all probability, just that. Other interesting notes about the markings -- Morse mentions that some spiders have partial or even double sets of stripes, so there's some variation in the appearance of the adults (definitely something worth keeping in mind). Also, there are a small percentage of adults with no stripes. (Btw, I tried to post a variation of this comment a few minutes ago and it just disappeared and I forgot to make a copy of it before hitting the submit button. If you now see two replies, just zap this one).

David P. Shorthouse wrote on May 17, 2007 at 8:51:51 AM MST

Bev, is there nothing in Douglass Morse's new book, Predator Upon a Flower that suggests the colour pattern on the abdomen of females changes with successive moults?