Herbivorous spiders.

Arachnomaniac19

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I just read the wiki page on Bagheera kiplingi and I'm wondering how their physiology is different from carnivorous spiders. Also, does anyone keep any of these spiders? It would be great to see some more pictures of ANY herbivorous or omnivorous spider.
 

Xafron

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Wow. I had no idea there was even one spider that ate plants.
 

Biollantefan54

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There are many, many omnivorous spiders. I believe many jumping spiders eat/drink nectar or something if I remember right. Orb weavers also eat lots of plant material when they eat their webs at the end of the day
 

Arachnomaniac19

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There are many, many omnivorous spiders. I believe many jumping spiders eat/drink nectar or something if I remember right. Orb weavers also eat lots of plant material when they eat their webs at the end of the day
I'm talking about spiders that actively search out plants for food. Going by what you're saying, herbivorous animals don't exist due to the supposedly herbivorous animals eating animals in water and small bugs on plants. The jumping spider part is certainly interesting. Do they do it for water or for sugars?
 

Biollantefan54

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I was just saying some feed on plant matter when not all do. I remember reading a paper where scientists even found growth differences in orb weavers raised with and without the pollen in their webs but don't quote me on that. They probably do it for sugars but I'm not sure
 
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RTTB

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Interesting. I learn something new here everyday.
 

The Snark

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The most adaptable process in living organisms is the digestive system. Many food sources carry the organisms, or support organisms, that are required in their digestion.
 

schmiggle

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I'm talking about spiders that actively search out plants for food. Going by what you're saying, herbivorous animals don't exist due to the supposedly herbivorous animals eating animals in water and small bugs on plants. The jumping spider part is certainly interesting. Do they do it for water or for sugars?
Beltian bodies, which B. kiplingi eats, are rich in protein and fat, so it probably didn't need to change its digestive system much to handle them. They've also got sugars, but pretty much any animal can handle simple sugars. Beltian bodies evolved to be an essentially complete food source for ant-plant ants, so they're probably nutritionally complete for a carnivore (ants eat mostly insects and honeydew, which is almost entirely sugar water).

By the way, B. kiplingi does occasionally eat ants, if I remember right.
I remember reading a paper where scientists even found growth differences in orb weavers raised with and without the pollen in their webs but don't quote me on that.
I think they also found that pollen constitutes a significant fraction (if memory serves, the number was at least 25%) of young orb weavers' caloric intake.
 
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