I don’t like posting photographs of unidentified “bugs” (insects, spiders, etc.). There are times, however, when my best efforts are thwarted and I’m left with the choice to admit defeat or relegate the photos indefinitely to the “archives”. In this case, the subject in the photos is just cute to hide. I found this bright red spider on the blossom of a flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) this past spring while hiking the North Fork Section of the Ozark Trail near Blue Hole Hollow in Howell Co., Missouri. While I am fairly certain that it belongs to the family Linyphiidae (dwarf and sheetweb spiders), I cannot decide if it is the former or the latter. Among the dwarf spiders (subfamily Erigoninae), it resembles some members of the genus Ceraticelus, while among the sheetweb spiders (subfamily Linyphiidae) it seems a good match for the genus Florinda (as suggested by Bug Eric). Whatever its identity, it is one of the prettiest and most brightly colored little spiders I have seen. (Photographed on 4 May 2014 with a Canon MP-E 65 mm 1-5X lens.)
Edit 8/22/14, 12:20 p.m.—I now believe this to be an orb weaver (family Araneidae), albeit a very small one (only ~8 mm in length); specifically something in the genus Hypsosinga. Take a look at this photo of H. rubens, which seems to be a near perfect match for the individual in these photos.
© Ted C. MacRae 2014
Beetles In The Bush 
What is the blue background? Is it a sky ou studio? Beatifull any way…
Natural sky background, hand-held in the field. I achieved this by slightly increasing the ISO and reducing shutter speed enough for the sky to register, but flash was still needed to illuminate the subject.
very nice, thanks for your time.
Nice! This is a new spider for me, notwithstanding my interest and keeping my eye out for them.
I’m pretty sure I’ve not run into this one before – at least not since I began carrying a camera and paying attention to things besides wood-boring beetles. Can you imagine how stunning this spider would be if it got to be as large as some of the other orb weavers like Araneus marmorata?
That would be something! And I see a Halloween card coming…
Beautiful spider. I have never seen one. Looks like a little cherry tomato. Was no one at BugGuide able to ID it? Great photos, too.
Iowa Voice
I didn’t try posting on BugGuide, but I did post on my Facebook page and sent photos to a few arachnophiles I know. I think we all were hung up at first on their very small size, but only after I just wasn’t happy with my original placement in the dwarf spider family did I start browsing through other families – Araneidae seemed the best place to start based on gestalt.
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Perhaps Hypsosinga rubens. I saw one myself today and found your image while searching for an ID:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/639797/bgimage
Look up Dwarf Weaver spider. I believe you will find what you are looking for in that spider. They are found all across the USA, Canada, and Cuba, and have also been located in other parts of the Americas.
I’m still going with an orb weaver in the family Aranaeidae, with Hypsosinga rubens being the likeliest choice.