Crab Spider

Family Thomisidae

This is a large family with more than 3000 known species. Sixty-two are found in this region. They are not active hunters and make more use of the camouflage techniques than other spiders. The color of the spider is adapted to the hunting terrain they use and is mostly extravagant. They remain unmoved until the prey arrives and catches it. With a venomous bite (not dangerous to humans) they kill their prey and suck it dry. Crab spiders can be found on flowers or leaves of plants. Often the crab spider remains for days, even weeks at the same spot. The front two legs, that are often larger and stronger than the other six, are held sideways, ready to catch the prey immediately. Because they sit on easily spotted places, they are also easy to catch by the predators. When they spot a possible enemy, they move quickly at the other site of the flower or leave. Their eyesight is excellent developed as can be seen on the pictures. They have normally two big front eyes.

Crab spiders are easy recognizable if you tease them. They widen their legs and move side ways like a crab. The size of these spider varies between 4 - 10 mm.
In some genera, there is a great disparity between the male and the female. The Philodromus dispar as shown below is a nice example. The male is completely different from the female.
The females usually stand guard with their egg sacs. The egg sacs are fastened to the vegetation and are usually flat.

www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/Thomisidae/Thomisidae.htm