- Source: Misumenoides
Misumenoides is a genus of spiders in the family Thomisidae. Spiders in this family are commonly called "crab" or "flower" spiders.
Species
As of 2022, the World Spider Catalog listed the following 35 species:
Misumenoides annulipes (O. P.-Cambridge, 1891) – Mexico, Guatemala
Misumenoides athleticus (Mello-Leitão, 1944) – Mexico, Brazil
Misumenoides bifissus F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1900 – Guatemala
Misumenoides blandus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1891) – Guatemala, Panama
Misumenoides carminatus Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Argentina
Misumenoides chlorophilus (Holmberg, 1881) – Argentina
Misumenoides corticatus Mello-Leitão, 1929 – Brazil
Misumenoides crassipes (Keyserling, 1880) – Colombia
Misumenoides dasysternon Mello-Leitão, 1943 – Chile
Misumenoides decipiens Caporiacco, 1955 – Venezuela
Misumenoides depressus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1891) – Guatemala
Misumenoides eximius Mello-Leitão, 1938 – Argentina
Misumenoides formosipes (Walckenaer, 1837) – Canada, United States
Misumenoides fusciventris Mello-Leitão, 1929 – Brazil
Misumenoides gerschmanae Mello-Leitão, 1944 – Argentina
Misumenoides illotus Soares, 1944 – Brazil
Misumenoides magnus (Keyserling, 1880) – Mexico to Colombia
Misumenoides nicoleti Roewer, 1951 – Chile
Misumenoides nigripes Mello-Leitão, 1929 – Brazil
Misumenoides nigromaculatus (Keyserling, 1880) – Brazil
Misumenoides obesulus (Gertsch & Davis, 1940) – Mexico
Misumenoides parvus (Keyserling, 1880) – Mexico to Colombia
Misumenoides paucispinosus Mello-Leitão, 1929 – Brazil, Guyana
Misumenoides proseni Mello-Leitão, 1944 – Argentina
Misumenoides quetzaltocatl Jiménez, 1992 – Mexico
Misumenoides roseiceps Mello-Leitão, 1949 – Brazil
Misumenoides rubrithorax Caporiacco, 1947 – Guyana
Misumenoides rubroniger Mello-Leitão, 1947 – Brazil
Misumenoides rugosus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1891) – Guatemala, Panama
Misumenoides similis (Keyserling, 1881) – Brazil
Misumenoides tibialis (O. P.-Cambridge, 1891) – Panama, Brazil
Misumenoides variegatus Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Argentina
Misumenoides vigilans (O. P.-Cambridge, 1890) – Guatemala
Misumenoides vulneratus Mello-Leitão, 1929 – Brazil
The female Misumenoides formosipes, while similar to Misumena vatia, is not as large, and can be distinguished by the inverted 'V' marking on its back (with the point of the V closer to the cephalothorax) and the 'mask' over its eyes. In most respects this spider behaves like the goldenrod spider, also commonly hunting in goldenrod sprays in the fall. It tends to take smaller prey, however, avoiding the bumblebees and large butterflies in favor of honeybees, large flies and small butterflies such as skippers. Male M. formosipes are quite distinctive, being much smaller than females and having a greenish cephalothorax, yellow-orange abdomen, and long, red to reddish-black front legs. They are found on a wide variety of plants as they wander in search of females in late summer and early fall.
References
External links
Crab spider Misumenoides formocipes diagnostic photos
Picture of M. formosipes