We found this spider on the fading blooms of some peacock orchids (Acidanthera) this afternoon. It is a green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans, probably a male as they tend to be more slender than females. The green lynx, named for its cat-like habit of pouncing on its prey, is a common garden spider in southern California, ranging from coast to coast in the southern United States as well as Mexico and Central America.
According to the Galveston County Master Gardeners, the green lynx spider is known to prey on beneficial insets such as butterflies, honeybees, pollinating flies, wasps, and other nectaring insects, but is of interest in agricultural pest management as an important predator of crop-damaging insects such as harmful caterpillars.
