First 'vegetarian' spider discovered

The first spider believed to feast primarily on vegetarian food has been identified by scientists.

The neotropical jumping spider, known as Bagheera kiplingi, represents the first instance known to science of such as spider, new research claims.

Of the 40,000 spiders described the neotropical jumping spider is the only one not to directly hunt or trap its prey in its web.

The research published in the journal Current Biology shows how the spiders consume Beltian bodies, specialised leaf-tip structures produced by acacia shrubs.

'This is really the first spider known to specifically 'hunt' plants; it is also the first known to go after plants as a primary food source,' said Christopher Meehan of Villanova University.

He added the B. kiplingi is the only spider known to consume solid, vegetative plant food at all.

The spiders do occasionally prey on small invertebrates, but the authors confirmed through both field observations and chemical analyses of the spiders' tissue that these arachnids eat a primarily vegetarian diet.

Mr Meehan said his research suggested 'near-total vegetarianism' in the spiders.

He also proposed a theory as to how the spiders avoid the ants usually guarding the acacias.

'Jumping spiders in general possess incredibly advanced sensory-cognitive skills and eight-legged agility, and Bagheera is no exception,' he said. 'Individuals employ diverse, situation-specific strategies to evade ants, and the ants simply cannot catch them.'

He also suggested the spiders might actually mimic the ants.

'Young spiders in particular look a lot like and seem to act like ants, one reason they have perhaps flown under scientists' radar for so long despite intensive study of the ants and acacias,' the authors write.

Meehan suspects that the spiders wear the ants' chemical scent as well.