# Wow! Out of Forty Thousand Species, this spider is UNIQUE! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711 "2009-10-13T22:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/1 "2009-10-13T22:12:50Z")
But before I tell you what makes it so special, I’ll let you try and guess. What makes this one species of spider different from _all other_ species of spiders? I’ll give you a few hints: - it’s not the biggest - it’s not the smallest - it’s not from outer space - it’s not fictional Give up? It’s vegetarian! [Source](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091012-vegetarian-spider.html) ([nationalgeographic.com](http://nationalgeographic.com)) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/2 "2009-10-13T22:15:17Z")
There was a Staff Report once where Doug the Bug guy mentioned how “spiders are stricly predatory - they only kill what they can eat.” (I think those are the words he used.) He is now proven **wrong**! If I could find the article I’d go challenge him in Comments on Staff Reports, but the column seems to have disappeared into the aethernet. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/3 "2009-10-13T22:44:12Z")
I don’t care how unique it is - it’s a spider, smash it with a rock!!! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/4 "2009-10-14T00:28:10Z")
I saw that online. i just about goggled! A plant-eating spider! ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/5 "2009-10-14T00:44:30Z")
I also found this fascinating. I first happened upon it in this BBC article: > **[BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | 'Veggie' spider shuns meat diet](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8302535.stm)** > > A spider that has an almost exclusively vegetarian diet is described by scientists. It contains a video of the spider, and shows how it leaps and dodges the ants protecting the plant, in the distinct jumping spider style. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/6 "2009-10-14T00:52:41Z")
Jeez…the next thing you know, someone will be posting about a vegetarian cat. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/7 "2009-10-14T01:14:08Z")
Though they do mention the spider DOES occasionally eat Ant Larvae every so often. So it’s not fully a vegetarian, but it def. does skew that way. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/8 "2009-10-14T02:13:34Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Though they do mention the spider DOES occasionally eat Ant Larvae every so often. Lousy non-commital formo-ovo vegetarians. Can’t stand 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/9 "2009-10-14T02:35:02Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Though they do mention the spider DOES occasionally eat Ant Larvae every so often. > So it’s not fully a vegetarian, but it def. does skew that way. Even deer will eat meat if they can ( stranded small fish, raw chunks cut and left out by people ) and they still count as plant eaters. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/10 "2009-10-14T03:00:56Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > There was a Staff Report once where Doug the Bug guy mentioned how “spiders are stricly predatory - they only kill what they can eat.” (I think those are the words he used.) He is now proven **wrong**! If I could find the article I’d go challenge him in Comments on Staff Reports, but the column seems to have disappeared into the aethernet. I can’t find it on the site, but I found it elsewhere: [http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view\_all&address=105x6541960](http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6541960) ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/11 "2009-10-14T12:23:06Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > I don’t care how unique it is - it’s a spider, smash it with a rock!!! That way isn’t very sporting. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/12 "2009-10-14T14:23:15Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Though they do mention the spider DOES occasionally eat Ant Larvae every so often. > So it’s not fully a vegetarian, but it def. does skew that way. You gotta break a few larvae to make a salad…or sumptin like that. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/13 "2009-10-14T16:56:05Z")
Smash it!! Smash it!! For the love of Og, won’t someone think of the children! ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/14 "2009-10-14T17:04:34Z")
> [@Surly\_Chick](#): > > Smash it!! Smash it!! For the love of Og, won’t someone think of the children! Then let the children smash it… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/15 "2009-10-14T17:43:08Z")
Cool. The Nat Geo article says it eats plant “buds,” but it seems that what it is actually eating are [Beltian bodies](http://ecolibrary.org/images/full_image/Ant_on_bullhorn_acacia_w_food_bodies_DP161.jpg), nutritious packets of food the acacia produces to maintain the protective ants. So the spider steals the ants’ lunch, then eats their babies. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-out-of-forty-thousand-species-this-spider-is-unique/513711/16 "2009-10-15T02:01:29Z")
Does it wear “Hammer Pants”?