Salad Spiders

Genesis 1:30
“And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air… I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.”

In the perfect world that God created there were no meat eaters. In today’s sinful world it is hard to imagine meat eaters, like spiders, being vegetarians.

Some spiders have occasionally been observed tasting plants. The male crab spider has been seen tasting plant nectar. Some baby spiders eat spores that they find in their webs. But now a small jumping spider that lives on acacia trees has been discovered that is vegetarian.

Acacia trees are often home to vicious ants that protect the tree from other gnawing insects. In return, the tree offers the ants protection and tasty nectar. So the little jumping spider must constantly avoid the guard ants when it heads out for a meal of nectar. One of their strategies for avoiding ants is to build their nests on mature leaves. These leaves are the least guarded on the plant. Researchers noted that they did observe four instances of a spider eating ant larva, but this was out of 140 feeding observations.

Our experiences in a fallen world do not begin to prepare us for what God is able to create, despite all the wonders around us. If it pleases God, He can make vegetarian lions, tigers and even spiders. Who of us would ever have thought of His plan to rescue us from sin through His Son, Jesus Christ?

Prayer:
Thank You, dear Father, for providing for all of Your creatures, even in a fallen world. Amen.

Notes:
Science News online, http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35121, 8/12/08, Susan Milius, “Vegetarian Spider.” Photo: Crab spider. Courtesy of André Karwath. (CC BY-SA 2.5)