Some spiders prefer to eat daily, while other spiders can go a month or more without taking a drop of water or speck of food. But what do spiders like to eat? Many of you likely don’t consider that question to be a difficult one to answer. Obviously, spiders enjoy eating insects, and perhaps other spiders as well, and maybe you have heard about a type of obscure spider that eats birds. But the truth is, spiders need their greens in order for their bodies to function properly.
Spiders have also been known to feast on fish and frogs, but researchers observed ten different families of spiders feeding on a variety of plant life that included trees, shrubs, weeds, grasses, ferns and orchids. Spiders love their plant food. Spiders have been observed eating a variety of substances that would indicate that they have a broad palate. For example, spiders have been found eating nectar, plant sap, leaf tissue, pollen and seeds of many different kinds.
A recent study that focused on spider diets has shown that all spiders eat greens of some sort, but the jumping spider seems to be the true vegan of the spider kingdom. The researchers saw that a whopping sixty percent of all the veggies available for the experiment had been consumed by jumping spiders, and there were numerous spider subjects taking part in the experiment. The jumping spiders also seemed superior to all other spiders when it came to seeking out suitable plant food.
According to the Journal of Arachnology, vegetable-eating spiders exist on every continent except for Antarctica. It was also noted that spiders exposed to warmer climates had a greater preference for plant food. The scientists in charge of the study believe that spiders prefer plants due to the tasty nectar that spiders have been known to prefer.
Have you ever witnessed a spider consuming anything other than a living thing? And if you have, what was it?
