Misumena vatia

Description

It can change colour from white to pale green to yellow to match the flower it is hiding on. The thorax often has two pale green lines and the abdomen can have two red stripes.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

This spider is found on flowers where it lies very still and supremely camouflaged.

When to see it

Mainly from May to June, but sometimes as late as August.

Life History

It waits to catch insects that come to the flower to feed, including bees and butterflies.

UK Status

Reasonably common, particularly in the south of Britain, less common in Wales and few records from Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Further Information

1469 British records to Jan 2013

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
Spiders
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Araneae
Family:
Thomisidae
Records on NatureSpot:
3
First record:
14/07/2006 (Nicholls, David)
Last record:
17/06/2020 (Grimes, Martin)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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