Crab Spider (Mecaphesa, Thomisidae) on a Coast Live Oak leaf
This another tiny Crab Spider (Thomisidae) waiting for prey on a leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). I honestly don't know what prey it expects to find here, but I've seen several of these spiders on oak leaves lately - there must be something. The general hairiness of the spider suggests that it is genus Mecaphesa - again. The spider is about 900 pixels long in my original photo at 1:1 magnification, so I figure it's 3.5 mm long - a bit over 1/8 inch. (See here for how I figure.) Those odd hairs on the leaf are the star-like stellate hairs that these leaves have. Arachtober 19. (San Marcos Pass, 18 October 2017)
Crab Spider (Mecaphesa, Thomisidae) on a Coast Live Oak leaf
This another tiny Crab Spider (Thomisidae) waiting for prey on a leaf of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae). I honestly don't know what prey it expects to find here, but I've seen several of these spiders on oak leaves lately - there must be something. The general hairiness of the spider suggests that it is genus Mecaphesa - again. The spider is about 900 pixels long in my original photo at 1:1 magnification, so I figure it's 3.5 mm long - a bit over 1/8 inch. (See here for how I figure.) Those odd hairs on the leaf are the star-like stellate hairs that these leaves have. Arachtober 19. (San Marcos Pass, 18 October 2017)