Goldenrod Crab Spider
HarmlessMisumena vatia · also called flower spider, white death
The goldenrod crab spider sits motionless in a flower head waiting for a bee, and it can slowly change colour between white and yellow over several days to match the flower it is on. It walks sideways and backwards like a crab, which is where the family name comes from.
Quick facts
- Bite risk
- Harmless to people, despite venom potent enough to subdue bees far larger than itself.
- Size
- Body 5–10 mm. Small — body about a pea, with the front two leg pairs much longer than the back two.
- Appearance
- Squat crab-like body, pure white or bright yellow, often with a pair of red streaks along the sides of the abdomen. The two front pairs of legs are long and held wide like crab claws.
- Web
- No web at all. Ambushes prey on flowers.
- Found in
- garden, grassland
- Family
- Thomisidae
- Range
- Most of the United States
How to identify a goldenrod crab spider
- Pure white or bright yellow, sitting in a flower head rather than in a web.
- Front two pairs of legs long and held out wide, back two short.
- Moves sideways.
- Often found holding a bee much larger than itself.
How it behaves
Completely still for hours, then a fast grab. Changes colour slowly to match its flower.
If you think you were bitten
- Most suspected spider bites are not spider bites. Studies of patients presenting with a “spider bite” repeatedly find that the large majority are bacterial skin infections — frequently MRSA — which need antibiotics rather than reassurance. A spreading, painful, pus-filled sore is far more likely to be an infection than a spider.
- Wash it, ice it, and watch it. Clean the area with soap and water, apply a cold pack, and keep an eye on it.
- Get medical care if the wound spreads or darkens, if you develop cramping, sweating, fever or severe abdominal pain, or if you are confident it was a widow or a recluse.
- Bring the spider only if it is already dead and to hand. Do not go looking for it. Doctors treat symptoms, not species.
In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.