Crab Spider (m) on Canyon Lupine -- genus Ozyptila?
Here is a small Crab Spider (Thomisidae) on a leaflet of Canyon Lupine aka Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolius, Fabaceae) in the woods today. This is not one of the flower-loving Mecaphesa spiders that I've been showing, but something else. It resembles a Ground Crab Spider in the genus Xysticus, but I think it's more likely genus Ozyptila with stubby front legs with just two or three large spines on the tibia -- see my note. It was hard to photograph in the wind today with a storm coming in, but I did my best. This is a male spider with swollen palps, see my previous photo of a female with slender palps. (San Marcos Pass, 31 March 2026)
Crab Spider (m) on Canyon Lupine -- genus Ozyptila?
Here is a small Crab Spider (Thomisidae) on a leaflet of Canyon Lupine aka Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolius, Fabaceae) in the woods today. This is not one of the flower-loving Mecaphesa spiders that I've been showing, but something else. It resembles a Ground Crab Spider in the genus Xysticus, but I think it's more likely genus Ozyptila with stubby front legs with just two or three large spines on the tibia -- see my note. It was hard to photograph in the wind today with a storm coming in, but I did my best. This is a male spider with swollen palps, see my previous photo of a female with slender palps. (San Marcos Pass, 31 March 2026)