Veggie Spider Discovered

Of about 40,000 species the Bagheera kiplingi is the only one known to subsist on a plant-based diet. Recently discovered in South America, this species of jumping spider almost exclusively eats leaf buds, such as wild acacia plants. Before this discovery scientists believed that spiders could only eat food they trapped and externally digested. Unlike their arachnid brethren, Bagheera kiplingis’ vegetarian diet means they need to spin webs to catch prey. Instead, the herbivorous creatures focus their web-spinning energy on building family homes, which act as nests for their young. Another interesting divergence from other species of spider is that the Bagheera kiplingi does not eat its sexual partner after mating.