Yellow Spider on Yellow Flower

: Yellow Spider on Yellow Flower; Another example of Misumena vatia. These spiders are common on flowers at this time of year. They can change their color from yellow to white, or from white to yellow, in about 5 to 6 days to match the flower they're sitting on (I also found a greenish one last year). Flies and other insects visiting these flowers are walking right into their trap. These spiders seem to have good eyesight, as they often retreat to the underside of the flower as you approach.; Created by: Jsloan.; Tools Used: Kodak DX4330 with closeup lens; Created on: June 14, 2004; Image Views: 8,757; Average Views per Day: 6.2; Image Number: 1479

Comments:

Jim from Cyprus on Jan 7, 2008 at 5:54 AM said:

i've never scene one until today found while watering plants. found your web site to identify. managed to get pictures

Melissa from Wisconsin on Nov 27, 2007 at 10:06 PM said:

I found a spider like this at White Fish Dunes in Door County Wisconsin. I have a great picture of it and would like to share it on this web page. Is that possible?

shari simmons from Danbury, Iowa on Sep 4, 2007 at 1:08 PM said:

I saw a yellow spider while walking a trail at the DeSoto State Park down by Missiouri Valley, Iowa this weekend on a family outing. My sister and I both wonder if it was dangerous also. Very pretty yellow, could hardly see it, it blended very well with the yellow flowers in was sitting on.

jsloan from Alberta on Jul 29, 2007 at 3:00 AM said:

This spider eats insects like flies, bees, moths, etc. that visit the flower it's sitting on. Yes, I'd say they're a good thing to have in your garden. They're not at all harmful to people.

A.Lovely from Bangor, Maine on Jul 28, 2007 at 5:01 PM said:

I found a bright yellow Crab spider

on an red oriental lily this afternoon. July 28,2007 What do they eat? And are they a good thing to keep in one's garden?

Elinor from Cardiff, Wales, UK on Jun 25, 2007 at 6:25 AM said:

we have one on a pink and yellow rose in Splott, Cardiff!

she is lovely

Lindsay from Lively On. Canada on Jun 24, 2007 at 7:44 PM said:

I found one of these spiders 2 years ago and just found another one eating a bee! Thanks to the site I couls identify it.

jody moore from Puyallup, WA on Jun 20, 2007 at 12:22 AM said:

Whilke watering my geraniums, I saw a bright yellow spider, with a red stripe down each side of its back on the flower. It is actually very pretty. I'm glad to see/;read that its not posionious.Thanks for all the info.

renee from wisconsin on Jun 18, 2007 at 6:57 PM said:

Yup straight to the net...i've never scene one until this weekend found on some yellow wild flowers i picked. It ended up in my sink....very cool spider! Thanks for this posting !

D.J. Brown from Athens,OHIO on Jun 18, 2007 at 2:08 PM said:

I think that I may have seen one of these spiders on my leg after swimming then sitting on the ground by some flowers. After this I began to do research on spiders to find out if the spider was dangerous or rare.I am twelve going on thirteen and wondering if this spider may be attracted to water or chemicals in pools. Are they?THANKS!

D.J. Brown from Athens,OHIO on Jun 18, 2007 at 2:02 PM said:

I think that I may have seen one of these spiders on my leg after swimming then sitting on the ground by some flowers. After this I began to do research on spiders to find on if the spider was dangerous or rare.

Shutterbug from Maine on Jun 11, 2007 at 5:15 AM said:

Great closeup of this yellow spider and lots of infomation here.

Carol

Brittany from Arizona on Jun 4, 2007 at 6:48 PM said:

It likes the box I put it in.

such a pretty spider.

karen g from seattle on May 26, 2007 at 4:06 PM said:

Hooray for this posting! Found one of these fellas on my day lilies this morning and went straight to the internet to research it. Very beautiful spider - will try to get a pic of it waiting with its front legs posed in strike mode (seems to be how she spends most of her time).

leanne middle from Taunton,Somerset England on Apr 15, 2007 at 11:46 AM said:

Have now had one of these spiders on my washing for last few days. Such a bright yellow!

Sheri from San Rafael, California on Mar 31, 2007 at 4:57 PM said:

Like others have said, I too came straight to the internet to find out what this beautiful, canary yellow spider was. It hitched a ride into the house on the lavender lilacs I'd cut. I took it back to the garden.

Gerard Chisholm from Prince Edward Island, Canada on Sep 13, 2006 at 6:55 PM said:

Today, Sept 13 2006 I have found what is after checking everything online, a female yellow crab spider. I was amazed and scared at first as I have never seen anything like this here and immediately knew it was non native to Canada, let alone PEI. How could this get here? Are they poisonous? I still have it in a bottle and promise to post a couple pics in the next day...Very very cool. What should I do with it? Being non native to here I am thinking kill it. Turn it over to the right people, or release it and hope it doesn't cross breed a new spieces here?

Rosemary from Marlborough, MA on Aug 24, 2006 at 11:00 PM said:

I saw a yellow "crab" spider - I guess, based on this webpage. It was brilliant! It was on some yellow flowers. Wow, the color was amazing.

md from Maine on Jul 31, 2006 at 9:05 PM said:

A bright yellow flower spider was seen on my nasturtium, and crept to the underside while I messed with the camera. It had a red-brown chevron on the abdomen, matching the marks on the nasturtium petals. Are they particular about what they feed upon? Can they gather spicy nectar from spicy flowers with which to poison their prey??

Floyd Varley from Spokane, WA on Jul 15, 2006 at 1:49 PM said:

saw one in the grass, bright yellow and long legs, not too far from a garden with yellow & orange flowers in bloom. Think it may have been hunting dung beetles as it was with what I was scooping

GG from Port Alberni,B.C.Vancouver Island on Jul 14, 2006 at 9:38 PM said:

I have been watching and taking pictures of this spider for the past few days.While it sat in my pink roses,the two stripes on it's body were bright pink.Now it is in some yellow flowers and is starting to look as yellow as the flowers.

Steve from Walla Walla on Jul 8, 2006 at 2:08 AM said:

Saw one this evening inside a red rose! Looked like the yellow pistol/stamen until we looked closer. Very colorful.

from quebec on Jun 30, 2006 at 11:01 AM said:

FINALLY A LITTLE INFO ON THIS VERY COLORFULL SPIDER I FOUND ON MY YELLOW COLEOPSIS FLOWERS.IT ALSO HAS TWO RED STIPES ON EACH SIDE.WONDERED IF IT COULD BE HARMFUL.

Pat from Minnesota on Jun 28, 2006 at 1:54 AM said:

We saw one today and i went to the net to figure it out. It was the exact same color of yellow as was the flower it was on -- yellow yarrow, and, like the respondent says above, it retreated to the underside of the yarrow when we approached.

jsloan from Alberta on Jun 27, 2006 at 5:33 AM said:

No, they're not poisonous to humans. Their venom is very effective against insects, though.

maria vargas from wilmington california on Jun 26, 2006 at 11:44 AM said:

we saw one yellow today. are they poision to humans or pets? thanks.

Royal from New England on May 25, 2006 at 7:41 PM said:

had one decide to make a fuzzy cocoon type web in cd player in the car - I thought it was just a piece of fluff and wiped it away only to have a bright yellow spider jump out and drop to the floor in the car - still haven't found it

Cathy from Monroe, MI on Sep 4, 2005 at 4:55 PM said:

I saw one around noon today. It was pure canary yellow. I moved it to flower garden and it hiked it's rear straight up.

jsloan from Alberta on Jul 18, 2005 at 9:37 AM said:

All of the literature I can find, going back for decades, confirms that Misumena vatia can change its color. I have witnessed this myself with specimens caught in the wild, both adult and juvenile. Is there a link to Carroll's experiments somwhere? Does he have a web page? I'd like to read about his work on this subject.

BTW, isn't Misumenoides formosipes a different species from M. vatia?

Brandon from Utah on Jul 13, 2005 at 4:50 PM said:

Misumenoides formosipes (crab spider)

According to "Spiderman" Brian Carroll, this flower crab spider cannot change its color like a chameleon. He performed an experiment and disproved the myth that this spider can change to white or cream if placed on a white flower. What he did discover, however, is that if a yellow crab spider lays her eggs on a white-flowered plant, her offspring will be white, not yellow. Furthermore, if a white crab spider lays her eggs on a yellow-flowered plant her offspring will be yellow, not white.

Wendy from Vancouver Island B.C. on Jul 10, 2005 at 3:59 PM said:

I've never seen a yellow one. Saw a white one. Thank you for your

info. Did same thing. Straight to net to find out. Going back to take pic. It has captured a wasp. Very interesting!

km from TX on May 30, 2005 at 10:49 PM said:

Thanks for the info. I had only seen the white phase. Lucky you to capture this one in action.

Jamie from Lubbock, Texas on May 30, 2005 at 12:51 PM said:

I had never seen one until today. It was sitting inside my yellow daylily and I was amazed. I had to come straight to the internet to investigate this species. I am glad you had this posting. I wish I had taken a picture too.

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