[Illustration: FIG. 75. Misumena aleatoria.--Natural size, among flowers
of thoroughwort, holding a fly in her mouth.]
The Misumenas are the most conspicuous spiders of their family, and are
among the few that are popularly noticed. They grow to a large size and
are white or brightly colored, and live in open places on flowers. The
males and females differ widely. The males mature early and remain
small, and are marked with a variety of colors in spots and bands, while
the females grow several times as large, lose in great part their
markings, and become white or yellow. In both sexes the two front pairs
of legs are much longer than the two hinder pairs, and often differently
colored. In the young the colors are variable and there is less
difference between the sexes. The Misumenas live on plants, among the
flowers, especially on large flat clusters, like those of carrot and
thoroughwort. They stand among the flowers, holding by the hind legs,
with the front legs extended or bent in stiff and awkward positions, and
wait for insects to alight on the flowers within their reach. Whether
spiders prefer flowers colored like themselves is an unsettled question;
at any rate, Misumenas of all colors and both sexes have been found on
white flowers. Occasionally individuals are found on flowers of exactly
the same color as themselves; for example, deep yellow _M. aleatoria_ on
the wild indigo, _Baptisia tinctoria_, and the reddish _M. asperata_ on
the flowers of sorrel, _Rumex acetosella_. The adult females of _vatia_
and _aleatoria_ are easily mistaken for each other. Both vary in color
from white to deep yellow, and grow to a large size, but they can be
distinguished by the difference in the shape of the head. _Asperata_ is
perhaps the most common species. The female seldom grows as large as the
others, and does not lose entirely the red markings of the abdomen and
legs. The scattered stiff hairs also distinguish it from the others. The
males of the different species are distinct enough one from the other,
though they differ widely from the females. The shape of the head and
the markings around the eyes are much the same in both sexes, and by
these males and females of the same species may be recognized.
[Illustration: FIGS. 76, 77, 78. Misumena vatia.--76, head and eyes seen
from in front. 77, female enlarged four times. 78, male enlarged four
times.]
$Misumena vatia$ is the largest species and lives all over this country
and Europe. It is sometimes half an inch long, and the first legs spread
an inch and a half (fig. 77). It is white, with sometimes a crimson spot
on each side of the abdomen and another on the front of the head between
the upper eyes. The sides of the thorax are a little darkened with
yellow or brown, which extends around the head to a distinct opaque
white spot under and between the eyes (fig. 76). This white spot widens
below over the mandibles and above under the eyes and around the eyes of
the upper row. The shape of this mark and the greater height of the head
distinguish this species from _aleatoria_ (figs. 79, 80). On the back of
the thorax is also a distinct opaque white spot. The first and second
legs have usually a light brown mark on the upper side, but this is
sometimes absent.
The male (fig. 78) is only a quarter or a third as long as the adult
female. The front legs are proportionally longer than in the female, and
the abdomen smaller and more pointed behind. The males are strongly
marked with reddish brown on a light ground. The thorax is dark at the
sides, while the front of the head is white like that of the female.
[Illustration: FIGS. 79, 80, 81, 82. Misumena aleatoria.--79, front of
head and eyes. 80, female enlarged four times. 81, female with dark
markings. 82, male enlarged four times.]
$Misumena aleatoria.$--The female of this species grows nearly as large
as _vatia_, and in some places is much more common. It is white or
yellow, but does not have the crimson markings at the sides of the
abdomen or between the eyes. The head (fig. 79) is rounder than in
_vatia_ and much lower in front, and there is a narrow white stripe
under the eyes that divides at the sides, one branch passing around over
the mandibles and the other close under the eyes. The sides of the
cephalothorax are gray or green. The abdomen usually has no markings
except a little gray color in the middle, but sometimes it has two rows
of dark brown spots (fig. 81), and in such individuals the legs are also
marked with brown at the ends of the joints. The males are very small
and strikingly colored (fig. 82). The two front pairs of legs are brown,
the cephalothorax green, and the abdomen yellow. The shape of the head
and the white under the eyes are the same as in the female.
[Illustration: FIGS. 83, 84. Misumena asperata.--83, female enlarged
four times. 84, male enlarged four times.]
$Misumena asperata.$--The males and females of this spider are more
alike than in _vatia_ and _aleatoria_. The adult females are always pale
and sometimes white, but seldom lose entirely the reddish bands around
the legs. Both sexes are covered with short stiff hairs about their
length apart all over the upper part of the body and legs. The usual
color is pale yellow, with dull red markings. The thorax is reddish at
the sides. The abdomen has two red bands or rows of spots on the hinder
half, meeting behind. In front are a middle pair of spots and two side
bands that spread apart in the middle and meet again at the spinnerets.
The tibia and tarsus of the front legs are marked with a narrow red ring
at the base and a wider ring near the end of each joint. The female is a
quarter of an inch long and the male about half that length. The
markings of the male are like those of the female, but the spots are
larger and more deeply colored. The male palpi are larger than in the
other species.
The male _M. spinosa_ of Georgia resembles _asperata_, but the legs are
much longer and the ends of the palpi smaller.
[Illustration: FIGS. 85, 86. Synema parvula.--Enlarged eight times. 85,
upper side. 86, under side.]
$Synema parvula.$--A common species in the South. Length about
one-eighth of an inch. The thorax is as wide as long, round and high in
the middle. The abdomen is as wide as long, widest across the middle,
and a little pointed behind. The third and fourth legs are not more than
two-thirds as long as the first and second, and lighter colored. The
thorax is orange-colored, a little darker at the sides, and with a dark
brown line on the edges over the legs. There are light rings around the
eyes. The abdomen is white or light yellow in front, and has a wide
black or brown band across the hinder half, not reaching back to the
spinnerets, and sometimes partly divided by a notch in front. On the
front half of the abdomen are some small dark spots and usually several
opaque white marks. On the under side of the abdomen there is a dark
band on each side extending back to and partly surrounding the
spinnerets. The front legs are orange brown, with the femora darker on
the front and rear edges. The other joints are a little darker at the
ends. The males are a little smaller and darker in color, but differ
little from the females.