Bug FAQNorthern Crab Spider
Mecaphesa asperata · Order: Araneae · Family: Thomisidae
Also called: Flower Crab Spider, Crab Spiders
The northern crab spider has a carapace, abdomen and legs covered in many short stiff spines, a white eye region, and distinctive red and brown markings on its abdomen. Its legs are yellow with red rings on the tibia and metatarsus of the first pair, and it hunts on similarly coloured flowers, preying on bees and flies.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
All legs are yellow except the first pair’s tibia and metatarsus, which have red bands.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives on flowers that match its coloration, waiting for visiting insects such as bees and flies. It belongs to the group known as flower spiders.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It hunts insects like bees and flies that come to the flowers it occupies.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is found across North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be told apart from similar spiders in the genera Misumenoides and Misumena.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 45 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I recognize a northern crab spider?
Look for a spider with many short stiff spines, a white eye region, yellow legs with red rings on the first pair, and red-brown markings on the abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
What does this spider eat?
It catches visiting insects such as bees and flies on the flowers where it waits.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Thomisidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecaphesa_asperata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.