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- This page contains pictures and information about Flower Spiders and Crab
Spiders that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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- Flower Spiders are sometimes called Crab Spider. They are small to
medium size with colour of green, yellow, white, brown and grey. They are not
hairy. All of them have eight eyes, in two rows of four, near the front edge of
their head. They can move their
median eyes independently. To the observer, their eyes appears to change colour.
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Their legs held in crab-like position and can move forward, backward or
sideways. Their front pair of legs are spiny and pointed to the front, prepare
to attack their prey. They are not active hunters, just stay and wait for prey and make
most use of the camouflage techniques than other
hunting spiders. The
colour of the spider is adapted to the hunting terrain they use. They remain unmoved until the prey arrives and catches it.
They are usually found on flowers or leaves and and will stay there for days.
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- Males are usually smaller than females. Females make egg-sac on curved or
doubled leaf. Females will guard their eggs and juveniles.
- Flower Spider
  - Diaea evanida, leg to leg 20mm
- The Flower Spider hides on flower or branch, front four legs ready to
seize a visiting insect. Their abdomen is white and yellow in colour, well
camouflaged when it sits on flower.
Click here for more pictures and information.
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- Yellow Crab Spider
 - ? Diaea sp., leg to leg 15mm
- This spider has the reddish eye patch and the horn-like projection on each side of its head.
This is a small Crab Spider. We found its once in Alexandra Hill on July
2007. We have the detailed page
here.
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- White Crab Spider, White Flower Spider
  - Thomisus spectabilis, leg to leg 30mm
- This species of Flower Spiders are a little larger than the above species.
The spiders also hide in the flower plants and their abdomen just look
like the flower buds. At day time they rest in their retreats made by the leafs
and their silk. At night they sit beside the flower and wait for the
visitors, such as the small moths. Please visit this page
for more information and pictures.
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- Knobbly Crab Spider
  - Stephanopis altifrons, leg to leg 30mm
- This spider is not easily be noticed if it were resting on bark. We found
it when it was guarding its egg-sac on leaf. This spider is slow moving.
Please also visit this Knobbly Crab Spider
page.
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- Brown Crab Spider
 - Sidymella bicuspidata, leg to leg 25mm
- Pictures taken in Karawatha Forest during late summer. It body shape
is similar to the White Crab Spider but
has all the body and legs in brown. We saw this spider only once.
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- Hairy Crab Spider
 - Sidymella hirsuta, leg to leg 20mm
- This is a small and hairy Crab Spider. It is just hardly be noticed when
resting on a hairy plant. We found this spider once in Yimbun Park near
Bulimba Creek on Oct 2007. Click on here
for more details.
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- Long Crab Spider
 - Sidymella longipes, leg to leg 20mm
- This small spider rests on twig with legs pointing forward as a long
stick. It is semi-transparent with pale brown triangle abdomen. We have more
pictures and information in this page.
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- Tmarus Crab Spider
 - Tmarus cineraceus, body length 10mm
- This is a small Crab Spider. We found its once in Karawatha Forest. Please
also check this page.
- Reference:
- 1. A Guide to Australian Spiders - Densey Clyne, Melbourne, Nelson
1969, p56.
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