Tiny Orb Spiders
You may call them Crab Spiders but these guys are actually Gastrecantha carciforms and are also known as tiny orb spiders. This class of spiders or arachnid's can be found from Florida to North Carolina and west to California. This particular species belong to a pantropical genius from Europe.
This species of crab spider can be easily identified from any other species in Florida. The sizes of the spiders also differ among their sexes, with males being much smaller than females, and usually measuring 2-3 millimeters long. And the males are really slightly wider in width compared to the female. Females can measure 5-9 millimeters in length and 10-13 millimeters wide.
It has been described by scientists under so many names, that it would be too much to list them here. Because of its movements and appearance, most Florida residents call it a "crab spider". Please do not mistake it as part of the Thomisidoe family, also called "Crab Spiders".
The male and female spiders have slightly different colors, having a black carapace, legs and venter, with some white spots on the underside of the abdomen. Florida specimens have white with black spotted dorsum on their abdomen. Other specimens from other areas may have a yellow abdominal dorsum, instead of the white, or they can have black instead of red. They also could be almost entirely black on their dorsal and ventral areas. The male may also have four or five small humps instead of abdominal spikes like the female has.
Florida specimens have white with black spotted dorsum on their abdomen. Other specimens from other areas of the United States may have a yellow abdominal dorsum, instead of the white, or they can have black instead of red. They also could be almost entirely black on their dorsal and ventral areas. The male may also have four or five small humps instead of abdominal spikes like the female has.
Eggs typically hatch 11-13 days after they are laid and take an additional 7-10 days to become "crab" spiders. After all that the "crab" spiders will take another 2-5 weeks to be able to make some very tiny, inconspicuous orb webs. The "crab" spiders will start growing larger around late summer and early fall. The typical lunch for these types of spiders are whiteflies, flies, moths, and beetles caught in their webs. These spiders are beneficial to humans by eating insect in orchards, farms and in gardens. Their bite is also are not harmful to humans.
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