If the name Bagheera kiplingi sounds like something out of The Jungle Book, then you are exactly right. Bagheera kiplingi – a name created for a unique species of jumping spider – has a genus name derived from the panther Bagheera in The Jungle Book, and a species name honoring the book’s author – Rudyard Kipling.
While the name of this spider is enough cause for interest, its true claim to fame is far more groundbreaking. This arachnid has broken the mold established by 40,000 known species of spider. Bagheera kiplingi is a vegetarian.
Scientists Behind the Find
While a report by Eric J. Olson, Christopher Meehan, and Robert Curry – published in Current Biology – details the dietary habits of B. kiplingi, the actual discovery of the spider’s vegetarian ways was made by Olson in 2001. Currently, Olson is with Brandeis University; Meehan is at the University of Arizona; and, Curry is with Villanova University.
The Vegetarian Spider Diet
B. kiplingi is a fan of acacia plants. The scientists, expecting to see the spider devour the ants who protect the acacia plant’s leaves, were shocked to see that when the spider was ready for mealtime, he chose to dine on the acacia’s green leaf tips – Beltian bodies – instead of the ants.
Although B. kiplingi is not a true vegetarian, in that it will occasionally dine on an ant, the spider’s diet is predominantly vegetarian. Among B. kiplingi found in Mexico, their diets were found to be at least 90 percent vegetarian.
Merriam-Webster defines mutualism as, “a mutually beneficial association between different kinds of organisms.” The relationship or association between acacia plants and the ants that protect it, allows for the vegetarian diet of B. kiplingi.
In an article published by The New York Times, Meehan discussed how he observed the spider stalk and hunt the Beltian bodies as another spider would hunt insects. B. kiplingi took advantage of the mutualism between the ants and acacia plants, to dart around the ants and steal away a green leaf tip. These ants probably will not invite the spider over for dinner anytime soon.
While the Bagheera kiplingi spider may not be very popular with the acacia plant’s protective ants, the discovery of the vegetarian spider has been very popular around the world. Although the idea of a vegetarian spider seems like another urban legend or spider myth, the release of Olson, Meehan, and Curry’s report in Current Biology has taken this spider from The Jungle Book, to the record book.
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