Crab spider

Last week I visited the south-east of England and came across an unusual white spider. I think it is a female Misumena vatia.

This spider does not make a web. It sits among flowers, waiting for passing insects which it catches with its two pairs of long front legs. Each time we approached, it stretched out these front legs, but it was hard to know if it regarded us as a threat or as potential prey.

It was sitting in one of these Hydrangea bushes.