grass crab spiders

A green spider that lives on leaves and trees.

Scientific name	Oxytate striatipes
English name	grass crab spiders
Japanese name	若葉蜘
Class	Arachnida
Order	Araneae
Family	Thomisidae
Genus	Oxytate
Species	striatipes
Full length	12-13mm
Distribution	Distributed from East Asia to Russia. In Japan, found from Yakushima northward.

grass crab spiders Characteristics and Morphology

A spider of the Thomisidae family with a translucent light green body. The color near the base of the legs differs between males and females.
The cephalothorax is round. The chelicerae are rounded. The eyes are brown and form a "W" shape when viewed from directly above. The abdomen is vertically long with a faint longitudinal line running down the center (rare for the Thomisidae family). The first and second pairs of legs are long.

Male

Appears brownish overall.
The bases of the 1st and 2nd pairs of legs are tinged with brown. The abdomen is thinner than that of the female.

Female

Light green overall.
The legs do not turn brown and remain green. The abdomen is rounder compared to the male.

grass crab spiders Ecology

Habitat

Lives on trees and leaves.

Food

Ambush hunts insects.

Life Cycle

Breeds from spring to summer and can be seen until around September.

grass crab spiders Photos

grass crab spiders Photos are introduced.
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The brown multiple eyes form a "W" shape.

grass crab spiders Behavior

They sometimes move by traveling along silk threads.

grass crab spiders Information

Naming

The scientific name "striatipes" means "streaked legs," originating from the brown sections seen on the male's legs.

grass crab spiders Found Locations

Forest road in Hachioji City, Tokyo

It was extending silk threads from flower to flower on thistles growing along a forest road in Hachioji City, Tokyo. It moved along the silk, but its movements were not particularly agile. The tips of its legs had a brownish tint.

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