At the International Behavioral Ecology Congress that ended just two weeks back, Christopher Meehan of Villanova University presented a very interesting discovery. Bagheera Kiplingi, a species of jumping spider, has been found to be preferentially vegetarian. Out of 140 of its meals that were recorded, 136 were vegetarian. It’s not that the spider’s niche makes insect-meals difficult to find. The opposite might be true instead.
B. Kiplingi lives on Acacia trees in Mexico, the very same that are famous for their symbiosis with ants:
Three species of acacia (collectively known as Bullthorn Acacias) develop domatia (large hollow chambers) which are almost always inhabited by ants. To feed their guests, the plants produce beltian bodies, which are relatively large protein and lipid rich balls. In return for food and shelter, the ants provide the trees with a very valuable service: they fend of any other creatures that might think of making a meal out of the plant. We all know what a force ants can be; If needed, they take on creatures of all sizes, from other small arthropods to large mammals. These acacias are usually easy to spot due to conspicuous grass-less patches that surround the trees.
So the symbiosis has programmed the ants to attack any other creature on sight. But the beltian bodies are too precious of a food to not fight for. So it was only a matter of time then before evolution produced another specialist. B. Kiplingi also lives on these acacias but by staying out of the ants’ way, it can survive. It is known to hide on dying leaves or other lightly patrolled areas and hence avoid confrontation. When it can, it feeds on the beltian bodies, also making rare meals of ant grubs and acacia nectar. Their queer diet is also known to include friends and family, as they have been known to cannibalize.
As you would imagine, the creature is indeed named after Rudyard Kipling and his character Bagheera, the panther from The Jungle Book.