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Comments & ID Thoughts
Slightly better pic of this tiny crab spider. About 2mm long, and is most active morning and dusk. I took this picture under a microscope.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Mar 31, 2021
- Photographed: Mar 31, 2021
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Ground layer (leaf litter, dirt, grass, etc)
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
This is most likely in the Ozyptila genus. Based off of Bug Guide, the femur 1 and tibia 1 of this spider matches the genus Ozyptila more than Xysticus.
After looking at some photos, she really does look like Ozyptila! I noticed in my photos that she has small “spurs” on her front legs, what are those used for?
Those are macrosetae. Spiders use them to pick up stuff like vibrations, wind, sound, etc. They also have setae on the tips of their metatarsus. If you remember in the Spiderman movie with Toby Maguire, where Peter Parker first goes through his transformation, he has those little spikes coming out of his fingers. Those setae help spiders latch onto stuff they are climbing. That’s about the extent of my knowledge, I’m not an expert on this stuff.
That’s really cool! You definitely have more expertise than me.
Love it! Great use of a Spiderman reference! Today I found a little fun factlet: spp. are triggered to release legs from their bodies in response to pain stimuli, such as excess pressure or a hornet sting. It apparently happens automatically, not as a choice.
That’s interesting! I guess it makes sense though, so then it can escape danger if a leg is stuck, or drop the leg to prevent venom from spreading throughout its body.