Thomisus onustus

Thomisus onustus is a crab spider in the genus Thomisus, found across Europe, North Africa and parts of the Middle East and Asia. It lives in flowers in lowland vegetation. Females are larger than males and can change color between white, yellow and pink to match the flowers they sit on, a cryptic mimicry that helps them avoid predators and capture insect prey. Males are smaller, more slender and drab, usually green or brown. The species has a distinct life cycle in which spiderlings emerge in either late summer or early spring, and it has developed a mutualistic relationship with its host plants, feeding on or deterring harmful florivores in exchange for the plant's pollen and nectar, which it uses as a food source especially when insect prey is scarce.