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Vegetarian Spider Described
Smivs writes with word on a spider, Bagheera kiplingi, that dines almost exclusively on plants. "The recently described species of jumping spider, discovered by researchers from Villanova and Brandeis Universities, dines on the protein rich tips of acacias, the thorny shrubs found in much of Central America. ... The species of acacia... favored by the Bagheera kiplingi has protein-rich leaf tips and nutritious sap to reward its [symbiotic ant] protectors. ... The Bagheera kiplingi has essentially evolved to steal from the mouths of the ants. These agile, inquisitive jumping spiders can leap up to 50 times their own body lengths... Competition for prey in the spider world is fierce. The Bagheera kiplingi's ancestors took the reflexes evolved for hunting and adapted into a creature that uses them for ant evasion."
"Surreal" Vegetarian Spider Found -- A First
"Though the spider does occasionally snack on ant larvae, the bulk of their diet is plants" -- Meehan said.
"Vegetarian Spider" results: 118
"Omnivore Spider" results: 2 (both unrelated)
Are they vegetarian? Absolutely not. But it sounds good.
Fact: Everything I say is fiction.
Indeed. I came here to point out much the same thing: it may be OK for the mainstream media to dumb down their reporting by using the anthropomorphic term "vegetarian" (a word referring to a philosophy) instead of the correct term "herbivore" (or, in this case, "omnivore"), but this is supposed to be news for nerds.
And yes, it's annoying that a sizeable proportion of the comments modded up as insightful on here will essentially be saying "I eat meat. Some people don't. LOL".
" with hints of males helping to care for eggs and young, another behavior that is virtually unknown among spiders. "
Yeah... considering the number of species where the male gets the hell out of dodge as soon as they fertilize the female so they don't get eaten, I'm not so sure a species where the male is confident enough to stick around is a sign of emasculation. :)
The enemies of Democracy are
A herbivore. Vegetarian implies a conscious decision not to eat meat.
As an omnivore who knows what shape his teeth are (I see them in the mirror every morning, more slashdotters ought to try looking in one occasionally) I find anyone who wants to talk about how vegetarian they are critically annoying, and I was born and "raised" in Santa Cruz which is hippie to the tits. Because it's a college town it's full of young people (I finally get to say that, although I noticed this when I was younger than they were) desperately trying to attach a label to themselves that will make someone think they are cool. It doesn't work, at least after college. Repeatedly and publicly calling yourself a vegetarian is your right, but it's kind of like fraternity/sorority lite. Recognition without commitment.
There are no indigenous vegetarians. None. You might reflect on that for a time. Plants have nervous systems and memories. I know a former raw food vegan fascist who had a revelation when she cried over murder of a food plant (I promise you I am not making this up, I think it was a broccoli of all things) and went back to feeding her body what it needed, a complete diet. Life feeds on life and we've evolved to eat meat.
It's not making a *choice* to not eat animals. These spiders aren't making a choice either. They're following instinct to find an easier source of food. It's an evolutionary change in strategy. For me, it is a choice.
Excuse me, what is the difference? Perhaps the meat available to you (at least as far as your body knows) isn't very good, and so your body makes you want to eat vegetables. You think that it's a conscious decision because people like to analyze stuff, but that doesn't mean that you actually made a conscious decision. I'm not saying you didn't, but I argue that it's more likely that you're rationalizing something.
The other thing that bugs me is how much other people obsess about what i'm NOT eating.
Bullshit, you invite the attention. At least, you did with this comment. It doesn't bug you, it gratifies you. Perhaps you're a vegetarian just to annoy people, and you don't even know it.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Since you appear to be new here, let me welcome you to Slashdot!
Unfortunately, most of the articles that get posted here are old news to anybody who actually specializes in that field. I've personally submitted articles at the same time that the events described within happened, but the articles didn't get approved and posted for months afterward. Slashdot is generally intended to be a discussion site, not a news site.