The title says it all. What the heck is it?
Edit: I found this on my car, in Kansas city.
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$\begingroup$ Well, it's a spider. Other than that, can you post the approximate location you found the spider so we can narrow down the possible species? $\endgroup$– user137Jun 11, 2018 at 0:48
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$\begingroup$ After trying to dig through this list the closest I can get are the Araniella species, some of which are white. But the pattern of dots is wrong, and the leg lengths look wrong too. $\endgroup$– user137Jun 11, 2018 at 1:03
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1$\begingroup$ @user137 I updated the question. $\endgroup$– Gogeta70Jun 11, 2018 at 1:35
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1 Answer
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After conducting a small investigation, it would appear most likely that the spider captured in the attached photograph is an arachnid in the family 'Thomsidae' or 'Crab Spiders'.
Although the proposed genus of Araniella proposed above by user137 shares a superficial similarity to this family, thomsids generally do not construct webs to ensnare prey - I might hazard that the web on your car does not hold the same structure, as shown below, to that of an Orb Weaver Spider (Araniella).
From the available information it is challenging to propose a genus, let alone a species. Based on the location of the car, I may propose the sub-family Misumenoides or genus Thomisus.
The general characteristics of crab spiders are the ambush of prey as opposed to trapping prey; the inverted V-shape under the cephalothorax; and the sideways movement of certain species in the Thomsidae family. It is of interest to note that any member in the population could vary appreciably in colour.
Wikipedia article concerning Crab Spiders available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomisidae Britannica regarding Crab Spiders available from: https://www.britannica.com/animal/crab-spider Information regarding Misumenoides is available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misumenoides
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1$\begingroup$ This answer makes sense. I grew up north of KC and saw several crab spiders, but I don't remember any white ones, I was also confused by the web, because I never saw crab spiders on any web at all. But the leg lengths look more appropriate for crab spider. If @Gogeta70 can provide more detail about size and behavior, that would help confirm the answer. $\endgroup$– user137Jun 12, 2018 at 0:59
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$\begingroup$ It stayed in the same spot on my car for over an hour. And the width of its long legs was about as wide as my thumb. Thanks for the answer! $\endgroup$– Gogeta70Jun 12, 2018 at 6:41