Lichen running spider
This spider can shift its own colouring between green, grey and white to match the lichen it lives on, making it nearly invisible while it hunts across bark.
| Where | Lichen-covered trunks in open woodland |
|---|---|
| Size | Female 8 to 10 mm, male 5 to 7 mm body length |
| When | January to December |
The Lichen running spider has a broad, flattened body mottled grey-green or silvery grey with dark spots, closely matching the lichen-covered bark where it is found, and legs ringed with fine dark bands.
It hunts actively across tree trunks and branches rather than building a web, chasing down small insects with speed. It favours mature trees in open woodland and clearings rather than dense, shaded forest.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Grey, Green, White
Active
Day and night
To people
Not dangerous to people; its mottled body blends so well with lichen on tree bark that it is rarely even noticed.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Philodromus aureolus has a narrower, more evenly brown abdomen and lives on foliage rather than bark, unlike the Lichen running spider's broad, flattened, lichen-mottled body.
Questions
Is the Lichen running spider dangerous to people?
Not dangerous to people; its mottled body blends so well with lichen on tree bark that it is rarely even noticed.
When can you see the Lichen running spider?
The Lichen running spider can be seen from January to December, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by kaitaaho, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
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Spiders›Running crab spiders›Philodromus
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.