Bagheera kiplingi

Bagheera kiplingi is a Central American jumping spider that feeds mainly on Beltian bodies produced by acacia trees, an unusual plant-based diet for a spider.

Beltian bodies: Nutrient-rich structures produced at the tips of acacia leaflets and used as food by ants and other animals. They supply most of the spider’s plant-based food.
George Peckham: An American arachnologist who described numerous jumping-spider species with his wife, Elizabeth Peckham. He co-authored the species’ original description.
Stable isotope analysis: A method that uses isotope ratios in materials to infer sources, diets, or environmental processes. Isotope evidence helped establish how much plant material the spider consumes.
Araneophagy: The predation and consumption of spiders by other spiders. It exemplifies the animal prey typical of spider feeding, unlike this species’ main food.
Ant-acacia mutualism: A mutualism in which acacias provide ants with food and shelter, while ants defend the plants. The spider takes food from a system defended by resident ants.
Elizabeth Peckham: An American arachnologist who studied and described spiders with George Peckham. She co-authored the species’ original description.
Nitrogen-15: A stable isotope of nitrogen used to trace nutrient sources and trophic position. Its abundance can distinguish plant-based feeding from feeding higher in a food chain.
Carnivory: A feeding strategy based primarily on consuming other animals. Most spiders are predominantly carnivorous, unlike Bagheera kiplingi.
Pseudomyrmex ferrugineus: A Mexican acacia-ant species that lives in swollen thorns and aggressively defends its host plant. These ants guard the acacias whose Beltian bodies the spider eats.
1912: The year Bagheera kiplingi was formally described by George and Elizabeth Peckham. Its scientific description dates to this year.

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Jumping spiderBroader topic: It is a striking exception to the family’s predominantly predatory diet.