RHH's photos with the keyword: misumena

July 31 and August 1, 2013, we were in Olympic National Park orchid hunting. Our first stop was in the area of Crescent Lake where we looked for an found two orchids including this one, the Elegant Piperia (Piperia elegans). One one of the several plants we found there was a crab spider lurking among the flowers. He had taken on the color of the stems and we probably would not have noticed him if he had not moved, but here he is. The Elegant Piperia, the orchid, can be around three feet tall (100cm) and in this location grows very tall. The individual flowers, however, are only about a quarter of an inch (8mm). I've submitted a picture of the spider to BugGuide.net for identification and the spider has been identified there as the Flower Spider, Misumena vatia.

Several weeks ago we were on an excursion with the Washington Native Orchid Society to see the Fairy Slippers and a very rare Trillium, shown in this photo, that grows in only a few locations in our state, as well as other native wildflowers. The spider is Misumena vatia. Because the area, which also includes a rare hanging fen, is very sensitive and protected, we not only had to get permission to visit, but had to sign a promise that we would not disclose any location information, so all I can say is that this was in Thurston County. There are many more photos of the area and its flora and fauna at this link: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/06/thurston-co...