Peucetia viridans
The Green Lynx Spider is the brilliant emerald ambusher of Texas flower heads -- a spider that builds no web at all, instead running and leaping across blooms after prey like the cat it is named for. The lime-green body with chevroned markings and long spiny legs makes it unmistakable, and the color is such perfect camouflage on green vegetation that most people never notice one until it moves.
Lynx spiders sit atop flowers and take whatever the bloom attracts, up to and including bees and wasps their own size. Females guard their spiky egg sacs fiercely through fall, and remarkably, this is one of the few spiders known to "spit" -- a threatened female can spray venom a few inches in defense.
They are genuinely beneficial in a garden, patrolling pest insects all season, and completely harmless to people beyond that novelty spray. This one was photographed on September 10, 2026 during a Hornsby Bend macro session, posed on vegetation with those spiny legs at full stretch.
Look for them by scanning flower heads slowly -- once you find your first, you will start seeing them everywhere. Shoot at the spider's level and let the green-on-green tell the camouflage story.
© 2026 Bryan Cotter Photography privacy policy terms of use site by cotter designs