Running Crab Spiders
| Spider Resources Cellar Spiders Funnel Web Spiders House Spiders Crab Spiders Daddy Long Legs Fishing Spiders Wolf Spiders Writing Spiders Long-jawed Orb Weavers |
They are often the forgotton crab spider.
The more colorful crab spiders in the family Thomisidae commonly receive more attention, and they are discussed on another page.
Hunting techniques differentiate the families.
Running crab spiders chase prey and crab spiders (flower spiders) perch and wait for prey, typically on flowers and leaves.
Less color variation in running crab spiders correlates nicely with their need for less camouflage when hunting compared to the camouflage needs of flower spiders. The dark bodied spider picture on the left is a male Philodromus-dispar. They are common European spiders, found also in the Pacific Northwest.
The picture on the left is tentatively identified as Tibellus sp.. The problem with picture identification is the fact that more than a couple of species share a similar general brown and white color pattern.
The Rabid Wolf Spider, for example, looks similar, except it has a lighter color stripe on the top center of the cephalothorax. A very common nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, also looks similar. It might have a thicker and darker central stripe. Regional variations among the Tibellus sp., Rabid Wolf Spider and Pisaurina makes for identification difficulties.
© 2005-2007. Patricia A. Michaels