In the landscape.
Plants & places
Flowering garden plants, meadow edges and low foliage; this individual was photographed on an outdoor object in Flat Rock.
A sensible first response
Watch without disturbing it; a garden food web includes both flower visitors and their predators.
When to look
Photographed in September, during the late-flower season.
Identification
The yellow, broad abdomen and greatly enlarged front two pairs of legs held sideways establish a flower-type crab spider. Goldenrod crab spider is plausible, but this rear-oblique view does not resolve the face and eye region needed to exclude related genera.
Lookalikes & limits
Misumenoides formosipes and related flower crab spiders can also be yellow. Color alone cannot confirm Misumena vatia.
In the garden
An ambush predator that captures visiting insects, including pollinators.