Introduction:
The Flower Spider's Latin name is Thomisus spectabilis.
Another name for the Flower Spider is the Crab Spider because it has
white or yellow stout legs which are held like a crab. The full size of
the Flower Spider is between four and ten millimetres. Flower Spiders
are often white or yellow in colour, some have green, brown or
rosy tints on the abdomen. The females are small and their legs are less
than 7mm long. The males are even smaller, but their legs are
longer. They normally have two large front eyes and have very well
developed eyesight. 
Habitat:
Each
Flower Spiders takes a flower as its
hunting territory and waits on the petals, anchored by its hind legs and
pedipalps extended. An insect visiting the flower for pollen or nectar
is seized and bitten, then sucked dry. They are mostly common in Summer
and are Australia wide. They also live in the garden on native flowers,
on grass heads and among seed pods and in rushes. They are common on
native flowers such as Grevillea. Flower spiders are diurnal in their
habits which means they are active in the day time.
Prey:
Flower Spiders feed
eat insects such as butterflies and nectar feeding insects. They even
eat bees as you can see from the picture below. The Flower Spider
catches insects with its front legs which close together like a pair of
tongs. It also jumps at the insect which lands on the flower, then eats
it.
 Breeding:
When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she weaves a tiny silk dish,
then she lays her eggs in the tiny dish. Then she makes a silk lid to
fit the dish and that is her egg sac. The eggs are like tiny green
jewels that stay in the egg sac up to two weeks. When the spiderlings
hatch, they are left to fend for themselves.
Venom: Flower Spiders are
quite quick to bite but only cause mild local pain to humans.
One species of Crab Spider is
the Goldenrod Spider It is best known for its
ability to change its colour from white to yellow in order to camouflage
among flowers. The female is the one most often seen. She is either
yellow or white, depending on where she is, with red streaks on her
abdomen. The male is dark reddish-brown,
with a whitish abdomen with dark red streaks. The male is smaller (about
1/8 inch) than the female (up to 3/8 inch). Goldenrod Spiders are found
wherever there are yellow and white flowers, especially goldenrod and
daisies. This is usually in a field or garden.
Information
and pictures were taken from children's projects and where credited to that
child does not claim to be original information. Where possible, permission
to reproduce has been sought. Any infringement of copyright is purely
unintentional.
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