A Little Yelper

I came across this little yellow crab spider while collecting seed from the New Jersey tea plants (Ceanothus americanus) we have growing in the Native Habitats nursery at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I think she is a Misumena vatia (Goldenrod spider), but correct me if I’m wrong. They’re known for their color-changing abilities–very slowly between white and yellow. I think it’s those pesky, ever-fornicating Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) that have taken a good chomp out of these leaves.