Spider identification needed please...

[pilonm]

Hello,

I photographied that little spider in my lilac last July 10th in Quebec (near Vermont/Maine). I think that the gender is Misumena but I'm not sure. Can someone can help me with the species/gender identification?

Thank you very much for your help....

Michel
Sherbrooke Quebec Canada

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu20.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu21.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu22.jpg

[John Apple]

Yes ....what you have there is Misumena misumenops .
I collected a few in Northern Wi. a few weeks back and one has her egg sac rolled up in a rose leaf and is guarding it well.
The neet things about these spiders is that they can slowly change color from green to white to yellow, but it all depends on the flower color.
They tend to frequent goldenrod more often.

common name is flower crab spider

[pilonm]

Hello John,

After looking for more infos and asking other forums I think it is Misumena vatia instead.

Comments?

A big thank you for your help! It is really appreciated!

Michel

[John Apple]

Hello John,

After looking for more infos and asking other forums I think it is Misumena vatia instead.

Comments?

A big thank you for your help! It is really appreciated!

Michel

Hey Michael
I'll have to stand by my I.D. on this one here.
The eye arrangement and the two red stripes cinch it for me :)

[pilonm]

Hello John,

I have difficulty with your id... The main problem is that I don't find any reference to misumenops as species. I found a lot of info concerning Mesumenops as genus.

By example,

There is in Quebec:

Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757)
Misumenops asperatus (Hentz 1847)
Misumenops carletonicus Dondale & Redner 1976

I don't find any Misumena misumenops on Internet...

The other thing is that after looking to picture of Misumena vatia on Internet I found several spiders having the 2 caracteristic red stripes on the abdomen...

Can you please direct me to a reference to Misumena misumenops ???

Any comments on what I found and not found?? :-)

Thank you very much for your help!

Michel

[DAND]

Michael,

Check out this link:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/38099

[pilonm]

A big thank you David!

This is a GREAT site!!! Now I can confirm that my spider is Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757) for we can see the 8 eyes, the spider is not hairy, the presence of the pink stripe and the fact that the only species of the genus Misumena which lives in Quebec is vatia!

Thank you again!

Michel

[John Apple]

I sit corrected. I was going by an old book I had.
I have now saved that site in my favorites.

as I sheepishly :bolt01:

[pilonm]

Hello John!

Your smiley makes me laugh a lot this morning :laugh:

Don't hesitate to help me with future identification because I just started to learn about the fabulous world of insect and I need help from competent people like you.

Thank you again for your help on this one :-)

Michel

[John Apple]

Michel....Like I tell my kids and employees...we are all a team here :)

[DAND]

Michel....Like I tell my kids and employees...we are all a team here :)

:hurray: GO TEAM! :hurray:

[pilonm]

Hello John and David :-)

I would like to close that topic but someone from another forum maintain that it is Misumenoides formosipes.

Here is the complete discussion I had with Dennis from the InsectNet Forum:

http://www.insectnet.com/dcforum/DCForumID2/1357.html

What do you think of its comments? Do you still agree for M. vatia or M. formosipes is now a better id? I begin to be very confused... :eek:

Please help me :-)

Bye and thank you again for your great help!

Michel

[DAND]

It seems they are both very close in description and in locality. Not having it in hand makes it rather hard to determine. Some of the pics I have seen of both haven't helped make any determination either since there is such a variation. Heck to make things even worse for you, it could even be a cross.

[John Apple]

Hmmm a cross is unlikely ...but stranger things have happened :shrug01:
I can remember last year seeing a big Chinese mantid female with a VERY much smaller Native mantid male on her back and in the act of copulation. Looked like a mouse maiting with a horse :rofl:
Looking at your picture again that female spider has laid eggs and I bet they are in the rolled up leave she is on. The large female I kept from Upstate Wisconsin has done that very same thing and now I am feeding pinhead crix to the many tiny babies

[pilonm]

Hello again John and David,

Here are some developments on my ID search about the spider. I just photographed another specimen very close to the first one. Here are the new pictures of this new individual:

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu58.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu59.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu60.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu61.jpg

http://parcours.pilonm.org/pictures/inconnu62.jpg


Do you think that it can help on id? I'm pretty sure that this spider and the one I photographied several weeks ago are from the same species... What do you think of it?

Thank you alot in advance,

Michel

[John Apple]

I have heard that they can change color slowly over time to match the flower they are on. Commonly called the golden rod spider around here. I would say they are the same specie. I have cought white ones and yellow ones and a sort of green one in the same field...all with the same red stripes along the side. I think you girl is gravid there
peace

[pilonm]

Hello John,

Thank you very much for your last comment! It was very appreciated! I will then "close the file" and identify my spider as being Misumena vatia.

Ciao! :)

Michel

[John Apple]

Take care Michael and your very welcome