| Tshadday/Misumenoides formosipes | |
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| Female | |
_-_Misumenoides_formosipes,_Meadowood_Farm_SRMA,_Mason_Neck,_Virginia.jpg)
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| Male | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Thomisidae |
| Genus: | Misumenoides |
| Species: | M. formosipes
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| Binomial name | |
| Misumenoides formosipes (Walckenaer, 1837)
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Misumenoides formosipes is a species of crab spiders (Thomisidae), belonging to the genus Misumenoides ("crab" or "flower" spiders). These spiders can be found in the United States. The species' unofficial common name is white banded crab spider, which refers to a white line that runs through the plane of their eyes.
Description
editThis species is a sit-and-wait predator that captures pollinators as they visit the inflorescences on which the spider sits. The spider has strong front legs which are used to seize prey.[1] The female spider is much larger than the male. The length of females is 5.0–11.3 millimetres (0.20–0.44 in) and the length of males is 2.5–3.2 mm (0.10–0.13 in). The pattern of markings on females is variable and the overall color of the body can change between white and yellow dependent on the color of their surroundings. The color pattern for males, which does not change in their lifetime, differs from females in that the four front legs of males are dark brown and the abdomen is gold. The spider can be found throughout the United States.[2] Males search for sedentary females within a heterogeneous habitat.[3]
Behavior
editFloral Attraction
editM. formosipes is a non-web building spider, so they use flowers to catch pollinators as well as find mates. Males spend a majority of their time searching for mates, primarily females close to adulthood, so they search for inflorescences by the smell they give off. A common flower that M. formosipes is attracted to is the Rudbeckia hirta. Males tend to feed on the nectar of flowers, specifically Daucus carota.[4]
Color Changing Ability
editFemale M. formosipes are able to change their color between yellow and white to better match the flower they are occupying. The change from white to yellow can take over 3 days,[5] while the change from white to yellow takes longer. The yellow coloring is due to ommochrome pigments being produced.[6] The appearance of white is due to guanine and uric acid in the epidermis.[7]
Hunting and Diet
editFemale M. formosipes hunt by waiting on inflorescences and capturing pollinators that visit the flower. Male M. formosipes are nectarivores and get a majority of their nutrients from consuming nectar from Daucus carota , commonly known as Queen Anne's Lace. Since the male M. formosipes are significantly smaller than the females, the are able to benefit from the low amounts of sucrose found in nectar.[8]
Reproduction and Life Cycle
editPre-Copulatory Mate Guarding
editMale M. formosipes send a significant amount of time searching for unmated penultimate females. Once a mate has been found, the male will then live on the female's inflorescence and fight off any intruding males.[9]
Reference
edit- ^ Rainer F. Foelix (1996). Biology of Spiders. Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-509594-4.
- ^ "Misumenoides formosipes". San Diego Natural History Museum. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
- ^ Leo M. Stellwag & Gary N. Dodson (2010). "Navigation by male crab spiders Misumenoides formosipes (Araneae: Thomisidae): floral cues may aid in locating potential mates". Journal of Insect Behavior. 23 (3): 226–335. doi:10.1007/s10905-010-9209-9.
- ^ Dodson, G. N.; Lang, P. L.; Jones, R. N.; Versprille, A. N. (April 2013). "Specificity of attraction to floral chemistry in Misumenoides formosipes crab spiders". The Journal of Arachnology. 41 (1): 36–42. doi:10.1636/Hi11-94.1. ISSN 0161-8202.
- ^ ANDERSON, ALISSA G.; DODSON, GARY N. (2014-12-14). "Colour change ability and its effect on prey capture success in femaleMisumenoides formosipescrab spiders". Ecological Entomology. 40 (2): 106–113. doi:10.1111/een.12167. ISSN 0307-6946.
- ^ Gawryszewski, Felipe M.; Birch, Debra; Kemp, Darrell J.; Herberstein, Marie E. (2014-07-03). "Dissecting the variation of a visual trait: the proximate basis of UV ‐Visible reflectance in crab spiders (Thomisidae)". Functional Ecology. 29 (1): 44–54. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12300. ISSN 0269-8463.
- ^ Insausti, Teresita C.; Casas, Jérôme (2008-03-01). "The functional morphology of color changing in a spider: development of ommochrome pigment granules". Journal of Experimental Biology. 211 (5): 780–789. doi:10.1242/jeb.014043. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 18281341.
- ^ Pollard, Simon D.; Beck, Mike W.; Dodson, Gary N. (June 1995). "Why do male crab spiders drink nectar?". Animal Behaviour. 49 (6): 1443–1448. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(95)90065-9. ISSN 0003-3472.
- ^ Dodson, Gary N.; Beck, Michael W. (November 1993). "Pre-copulatory guarding of penultimate females by male crab spiders, Misumenoides formosipes". Animal Behaviour. 46 (5): 951–959. doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1276. ISSN 0003-3472.