She is tiny, almost like a fingernail, she has a nice face and her name is Bagheera Kiplingi. It is possible that upon reading the name you have already put a friendly smile on your face as you remember one of the famous characters from the «Jungle Book.» This fascinating creature was discovered in 1896 by naturalists George and Elizabeth Peckham and they decided to name him after their favorite character in literature. Then, they only had to add the last name of the author of the work, Kipling.
She undoubtedly deserved a good name, because our little friend has a very special quirk: It is vegetarian! (or almost…)
Bagheera kiplingi, meat? No thanks, better rob the ants
To date, they are classified around 4,000 species of spiders. We are sure that there are many, many still to be discovered, hence it is most likely that our Bagheera Kiplingi is not the only vegetarian spider in the world.
Until not long ago it was thought that spiders, those beloved creatures that reside in the dusty corners of our houses, and that laboriously weave their fantastic and resistant webs in the hope of hunting an unhappy insect, need to infect their prey with a poison. so that their bodies «disintegrate» or «liquefy» and thus be able to consume them more comfortably. Rugged but effective. However, with Bagheera this conception changed radically. Our friend loves acacia leaves, and she consumes them in large bites.
You will be pleased to know that our little spider usually lives with ants and «takes advantage» of them to reach the best leaves in the soil of Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. It also loves nectar, but the most common thing is that this intelligent creature, since it has no teeth or other weapons that allow it to cut the leaves, what it usually does is «steal» the already cut leaves from the ants. Fascinating, right?
It was the biologist Christopher Meehan, of Villanova University in Pennsylvania, who described them in more detail since 1896 by George and Elizabeth Peckham. Thanks to him, we know, for example, that this little spider is a jumper, and that as a curious fact, it is one of the few species within its family that does not devour its partner after mating. What Bagheera Kiplingi normally does is some curious burrows in the ground where they take care of their young. It does not need to make webs to catch prey to devour, since what it likes most is devouring acacia leaves and sometimes, also droplets of pollen.
It coexists in calm balance with the ants. In fact, biologist Christopher Meehan is investigating the possibility that these spiders release a type of chemical that allows them, for example, to tranquilize ants when they decide to «steal» already cut acacia leaves. However, an important nuance should be noted: Bagheera Kiplingi is not completely «vegetarian», it also has a special weakness for fly larvae found in the bark of acacia trees. She is, as you can see, quite a “sybarite”.
If you liked this story, also discover «the attractive dance of the peacock spider.» Amazing!