Running Crab
Spider and Early Instar - (five photos)
Tibellus oblongus
10 mm

When I saw the two spots on this tiny, female
crab spider I got
really excited (actually this one has three
spots--one
large on the right side and two tiny ones on the left side--go figure!).
This is only the second time I have
seen one of these Tibellus oblongus
in my yard. I actually have seen it nowhere else in Utah,
although it exists everywhere. © Carol Davis, 6-18-2009

One of the neighbors boys actually found this climbing on the hinges of
my back screen door. Kids have great eyes
for spotting insects and spiders. Notice how flat they are. © Carol Davis, 6-18-2009

I had been searching for these for
years when I found this one in my backyard. I have found many
similar to
these before, but
never with the two spots. I actually came back outside to take more
pictures of a lynx spider, but
that spider was gone and
just a few leaves over sat this beautiful crab spider. This one
shows the typical two spots. © Carol Davis,
5-4-2009
While digging around in my garden, I found this early instar Tibellus oblongus. It was much, much
smaller than the ones in the previous photos. Just a cute little baby! © Carol Davis 5-15-2014
This spider's legs are almost transparent. I think they get this way either right before they molt or right after. It was a
perfect immature little gem, leading me to believe it had just molted - and it even had two spots! © Carol Davis 5-15-2014
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