Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Suborder Araneomorphae Scientific name Misumenops asperatus | Phylum Arthropoda Order Araneae Family Thomisidae Rank Species | |
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Similar Misumenops, Misumenoides formosipes, Misumenops celer, Misumenoides, Mecaphesa | ||
This is a breed of the 'flower spiders' (so-called because they generally hunt in similarly coloured flowers for visitors such as bees and flies), Misumenops asperatus is a much smaller nearctic relative of the better-known Goldenrod Spider (Misumena vatia).
Howell (2004) provides the following diagnosic/identifying characteristics: "M. asperatus is distinguished from Misumenoides and Misumena in that the carapace, abdomen and legs are distinctively covered with numerous short stiff spines. The ocular region is white. On the anterior half, the abdomen has red streaks laterally. On the posterior half, the abdomen has a mottled brown to red-brown V-shaped mark pointed towards the posterior. All legs are yellow, except the tibia and metatarsus I bear red annuli."