One question that I get frequently is “how can I find one of those beautiful flower spdiers?”  My answer is to search among composite (daisy-like) flowers, look for one of the ray flowers (petals) that is folded over. Inspecting closely you may see some thin silk lines, or if you gently push the petal aside, it might reveal a flower spider hiding there.

Just yesterday I noticed one of our sawtooth sunflowers with a telltale bent ray flower, and sure enough when I peeked under, there she was, a beautiful white-banded crab spider (Misumenoides formosipes).

Here is the flower, note the one ray bent ray flower

Gently pushing the bent petal reveals a female white-banded crab spider.

Sometimes there is a suitor nearby. In this case you can see him on an adjacent flower head of the sunflower.  The males of white-banded crab spiders are very different looking, much smaller and with dramatic dark front legs.

Here is a shot with both of the spiders, the male is out-of-focus to the right.

look at the blue arrow…

This male may be waiting for an opportunity to mate with her, or perrhaps he is “guarding” her from other males to ensure his paternity.