Spiderbloggers

OK, I've fallen for the odd April Fool's prank in my time, but this one seems legit? The Photograph is by Robert L. Curry


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... pider.html

My reaction was the same, this is a prank, but I also can't fault the providence. If you find out any more than please let me know. I can't help still being suspicious.

Strangely enough, this seems legit! According to an article by Science News the spider, Bagheera kinplingi, steals the tips of acacia leaflets from ants. They are rich in protein and fat. This information just floors me! It is completely contrary to what you would expect! The article is here: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic ... ian_spider

Thank you. I am convinced of the legitimacy now. This is amazing. The question arises: is this the only one? It has been a long established assumption that spiders are carnivores.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's the first of many. We've made similar assumptions about many animals in the past ... chimpanzees hunt and eat colobus monkeys for meat, giraffes chew on bones for calcium, our cats eat grass so they can puke on the carpet. Why should spiders be different? I think that we will find more vegetarian spiders as our knowledge increases. I'm using the royal we, of course.

I suspect you are right [she replies from home - lovely lovely home after 4 fantastic weeks in the US]. I think it may be like my current work on knowledge systems in prehistory. No-one saw the evidence before because no-one was looking for it. Now that people are looking for herbivorous/omnivorous spiders, they may start appearing out of the woodwork!

If anyone hears anything - please post it here!

Welcome back. Glad you enjoyed the trip