swift crab spider

(Mecaphesa celer)

Conservation Status
swift crab spider
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

 

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Female Body Length: ¼

Male Body Length:

 
     
 

Web

 
 

 

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.

 
  7/11/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Arachnida (arachnids)  
 

Order

Araneae (spiders)  
 

Suborder

Araneomorphae (typical spiders)  
 

Superfamily

Thomisoidea (crab and running crab spiders)  
 

Family

Thomisidae (crab spiders)  
 

Genus

Mecaphesa  
       
 

This species was formerly classified as Misumenops celer. Most species in the genus Misumenops, including this one, were moved into the genus Mecaphesa in 2008.

 
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

swift crab spider (Mecaphesa celer celer) ?

swift crab spider (Mecaphesa celer olivacea)

swift crab spider (Mecaphesa celer punctata)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Misumenops celer

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

common flower crab spider 

swift crab spider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Alfredo Colon

 
    swift crab spider   swift crab spider  
 

Dan W. Andree

 
    swift crab spider      
           
 
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Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  Mecaphesa Moving Eyes
Joseph T Lapp
 
   
 
About

Published on May 24, 2013

Jumping spiders and crab spiders are among the few spiders that can move their "main" eyes. The main eyes of an eight-eyed spider are the anterior middle two eyes. Here you see the main eyes of an adult male Mecaphesa celer moving. Spiders don't have ball-and-socket eyes like we do. Instead they just move their retinas. Crab spiders make images with these moving eyes, but the images are in focus only at about a centimeter.

Most Mecaphesa celer are pale yellow or tan in color. The green abdomen makes this one unusual. Some young (elementary school) arachnologists found this spider in a patch of ragweed during a program I was conducting in Austin, Texas, on May 23, 2013. It has a body length of 3mm, or just under 1/8 inch.

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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  Alfredo Colon
8/23/2022

Location: Albany, NY

swift crab spider  
  Dan W. Andree
7/7/2022

Location: Frenchman’s Bluff SNA, Norman Co. Mn.

swift crab spider  
           
 
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