Crab Spider

Kingdom: Aminalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Thomisidae or Phiodromidae

Crab spiders resemble small crabs. The first two or three sets of their legs are always longer than the rest. They mostly stay out in front of the spider like those on a crab with claws. Most crab spiders are very small, less than one inch. They do not spin webs like most spiders to catch their prey, they hunt on the ground. They can lie and wait in the same position for hours hunting flying insects and things on the ground. There are about 2000 known species of crab spiders. 200 of which live in North America.