Bagheera Kiplingi – The Vegetarian Spider

We, the Bagheera Kiplingi, are also known as the vegetarian spiders of Mexico and Central America. We can proudly say that in 2009, an article was published about us in a journal called Current Biology. We are famous because we are the only spiders in the world known by human scientists to eat a plant for food! Another reason that we are so popular is that we have a strong relationship with our homes – the acacia trees. These trees usually have lots of ants scurrying around and protecting them. The ants shelter inside the hollow thorns of the trees and also eat the “Beltian bodies.” Sometimes we also enjoy eating acacia nectar.

We are part of the Jumping spider or Salticidae family. We have eight eyes, and many people find our large, central eyes to be quite adorable! We are also amazing jumpers. We can jump the distance of many times our body length.

I was very happy recently because Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke about some of my relatives on different occasions. She said that we spiders are beings with souls and that we have helped Her. Of course, the Beloved Master was right! So, I invite you to remember that if you see my extended family – please remember that we might be carrying a message for you! “But not everybody knows what news it is. You have to listen; you have to quiet down. Otherwise, you cannot see. And you can tell that the spider telling you something is different from the spider who doesn’t want to tell you anything. (Oh!) He will go away, doing his own business. But if he just stays in front of you, he doesn’t want to go, he’s not scared of you, he stares at you even, then he wants to transmit something to you.”

So although we are famous for eating vegetation, just remember that we are unique in lots of ways, and that although many people think we are adorable, we are also strong and talented, and as postmen and women do, we may be carrying messages for humans!