I was deadheading the zinnias and found a green garden spider munching on a small bee-like critter. The black markings on the abdomen are just shadows from their legs. They're entirely bright green. The Green Lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) is basically a good garden citizen. They don't spin webs but pounce on their prey like a cat does, thus the name. They like eating various worm-creating moths like cabbage looper moths. The one mark against them is that they also like honeybees but all in all, they're welcome in the garden.


I need to be careful when deadheading the zinnias as I have found them guarding their egg cases hanging under zinnia blooms around this time of year. A few years ago I found one of the egg cases and checked it every day until the babies emerged. Geez, time flies. I just found the photo and it was October 2019! Green Lynx start changing color in the fall. Here are the babies emerging from the egg sac. The more the merrier!