“Resembles a crab”: yellow spiders with a unique ability invade people’s homes (3 photos)

The creature can change color depending on its surroundings and has the unique ability to move sideways, as well as forward and backward.





Bright yellow spiders are invading people's homes in the UK. Many of them claim that arthropods have a unique ability. A photo of one uninvited guest was shared by a user with the nickname Vivalo on the popular Reddit forum.

The creature changes color and has the unique ability to move sideways, as well as forward and backward. The man who spotted the spider wanted to know more about its species.

"What is this bright yellow spider? Spotted this morning in Richmond, London, UK," he captioned his photo.

One of the insect experts responded to the Briton’s request. He wrote that it was Misumena vatia - better known as the spider crab because of its unique ability to move sideways, as well as forward and backward.

“Interesting. When I saw it, I thought it looked something like a crab,” the author of the message replied to the expert.



These spiders, which are also found in North America and throughout Europe, reach a size of about 1 cm if they are females and 0.5 cm if they are males. Their venom is strong enough to kill insects much larger than themselves, but fortunately they are harmless to humans.



These cunning spiders are able to blend into their surroundings by changing color to match the flower they are on, going from yellow to white. This “transformation” can last up to 25 days, and only female spiders are capable of this cool trick in their eight arms. Like many other spiders, female golden crabs sometimes cannibalize their male partners after mating is complete.