Thieving Vegetable-Eating Spider

Try as they might, Pseudomyrmex ants cannot successfully protect their property from certain invaders. Especially that pesky jumping spider known as Bagheera kiplingi —  just a moment. If you are like me, you probably skip over the Latin names for the most part, but take a look. Bagheera was the panther in The Jungle Book, which was written by Rudyard Kipling. (He also wrote Just-So Stories, and when Darwinists evosplain things, they sounds like Kipling could have written them.) The author was honored by those names in 1896. But those stinging ants want that raider behind bars. Or something.

Bagheera kiplingi image: Wikimedia Commons / Wayne Maddison (CC BY 3.0), modified with Ckler clipart

This jumping spider doesn't use a web very much, relying instead of stealth, cunning, and other traits. It likes the same vegetable matter that the ants want. Interestingly, the tree they call home gives them food and shelter, and the ants protect the tree. That's an excellent example of mutualism. I'm sure that Darwin's acolytes have a just-so story available to evosplain that symbiosis (mutualism), the spider's vegetarian bent, and its stealth skills. It's important for them to deny the creative complexity used by the Master Engineer.

Jumping spiders don’t build webs to catch prey. Instead, they hunt, and B. kiplingi is a master hunter. It uses its well-honed hunting skills to avoid ant patrols and stalk its favorite veggies or forbidden nectar. Like all other jumping spiders, B. kiplingi has excellent vision. It skillfully skulks about the skinny branches, keeping all four pairs of eyes on the patrolling ants. If it gets cornered, it jumps away with its powerful legs or drops out of reach on a silk strand.

To read all of this fascinating article (or listen to the excellent audio by my favorite reader), jump over to "The Great Veggie Burglar."