Species Focus - Flower crab spider (Misumena vatia)

We’ve recently been getting interesting records of two unusual garden spiders coming in to Cofnod. Misumena vatia is a large crab spider which sits on flowers and captures bees and butterflies. If the female spider is sitting on a white flower her colour remains white, however she can change to bright yellow if she moves on to a yellow flower!

Misumena vatia is at its northern most British limit here in North Wales, so please check your garden flowers and send your records in. We have records from the Conwy Valley, Abergele and Malltraeth on Anglesey, so you might discover a new location for this large and distinctive spider.

Robin Sandham recently recorded the Nigma puella, the Bleeding Heart Spider from his garden. This is the first time that this species has been recorded in North Wales, but there must be more out there! This is a small (3 mm) white spider with pink and green markings that sits on garden foliage.

More information on both of these species can be found on the British Arachnological Society’s Spider Recording Scheme website:

Please submit your records of these two species, with photographs, to Cofnod using the ORS or the LERC Wales App and help us map their distributions.