Most spiders do not eat fruit because the vast majority of spiders are exclusively carnivores. There are, however, some spider species that might suck the nectar from fruits or flowers. Even then, it will not be their primary source of food.
There is one vegetarian spider species called Bagheera kiplingi which lives in Central America. This species mostly feeds on acacia shrubs and leaves, but will occasionally eat fruits and suck the nectar from fruits.
Some spiders might, at times, suck on the nectar from the fruits. This will mainly happen because they are looking for a source of water to hydrate themselves, and not for food. You might see a jumping spider doing something like this in this video:
Do Spiders Eat Fruit?
The vast majority of spiders are carnivores, so they will not eat fruit as their primary source of food. Some spiders might suck on the nectar of fruits though, which will help them stay hydrated.
Spiders like to hunt other animals for food because they are carnivores. Most spiders will hunt other species with their webs or with their ambushing techniques. That’s because spiders only know how to eat meat and have their bodies accustomed to that.
To digest the animals they catch, spiders will use their enzymes to start the process of digestion before the animal enters their mouth. They will cover their prey in enzymes and venom, which will both paralyze the target and liquefy it. This will make it easier for the spider to eat the animal.
Once the animal is liquefied, the spider will have an easy job to eat the prey. It will suck the prey with its straw-like mouth, which is quite easy for them to consume since they don’t have teeth or other organs like humans that allow us to eat meat and other foods.
Spiders don’t have the capacity to chew down on fruit and eat it, though. They don’t have teeth and other organs needed to consume fruit, so they will not be able to eat them. However, some spiders might use their mouths to suck the nectar from the fruits and other plants, but that is more of a supplementation food rather than primary food.
It is fair to say that most spiders don’t eat fruit, but it’s not that easy to generalize things in this regard. Some spiders might occasionally enjoy the nectar of the fruit, so there is some tendency to eat the nectar, but not the fruit itself.
Related: How often are Spiders Found in Bananas? (It’s happened a fair bit!)
Why Don’t Spiders Eat Fruit?
Spiders don’t eat fruit because they don’t have the right organs to eat fruit and digest it. They don’t have teeth, which makes it hard for them to eat fruit.
It is not yet clear whether spiders actually like fruit or not; there have not been many studies done on this, although some spider species might like the nectar of the fruit, as we have seen above with the jumping spider.
The main reason that spiders don’t eat fruit is that their bodies are not accustomed to eating it. They will be able to digest meat easily by covering their prey with enzymes, allowing them to digest the food before it even enters the body of the spider.
With fruit, that process is just not possible. Spiders cannot simply cover the fruit with enzymes and venom just like they do with meat and then eat it. It will not turn the fruit into a liquid, so it will be hard for the spider to eat the fruit.
The only occasion where a spider might be tempted to eat fruit is when they want the juice of the fruit to drink. When it is possible, they might start to suck the nectar of the fruit, which is primarily meant to help them stay hydrated. Also, they might gain some valuable vitamins and minerals along the way.
However, most spiders still won’t eat fruit because they don’t have teeth, and also because their digestive system is not prepared to eat and digest fruit. For this reason, spiders will primarily stick to a more carnivorous diet – but for a few rare exceptions.
Related Article: Do Spiders Eat Grasshoppers and Crickets?
Are There Spiders that Eat Fruit?
The most well-known spider that relies on fruit and vegetables is the Bagheera kiplingi spider, which lives in Central America. This spider is known as a vegetarian spider due to its preference for vegetables and also fruit.
This spider is well-known for its vegetarian diet. It will consume specialized leaf-tips of acacia shrubs, which are only present in certain parts of the world – most notably, Central America, where this species thrives.
This species is known for spending its entire life on the shrubs of acacia leaves, where it will find food and sometimes also try other foods if possible. It is thought that this spider might have a liking for fruit as well, but there have not been many studies that would confirm this completely.
To find food, this spider will have to fight off ants at times, so it will tend to avoid areas where ants are guarding fruit and vegetables that the spider could eat. Sometimes, the living area of this spider is very limited.
Other spider species might also occasionally enjoy good fruit, but almost no spiders have fruit as their primary source of food. As you may have seen from the video above, some jumping spiders and pet spiders might have a liking for the nectar of the fruit, but rarely will they consume it as their primary source of food.
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- What do Jumping Spiders Eat?
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- What do House Spiders Eat?
- List of Insects that Spiders Eat
- How Often do Spiders Eat?
- 5 Spiders that Eat Fish
- Can Tarantulas Eat Hornworms?
- 7 Spiders That Eat Other Spiders
Final Thoughts
Most spiders don’t eat fruit, and especially not as their primary source of food. Some spiders might enjoy the nectar of the fruit as it will suck it down with its straw-like mouth, but not many spiders will do that. The majority of spiders are carnivores, as they will rely on their hunting techniques to catch insects and other animals they will eat.
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