Scientists have found spiders that give “milk”
This nourishing fluid contains four times more protein than cows milk.
Upstairs
Spider Toxeus magnus fed their offspring with a nutritious liquid, by analogy with mammals.
This discovery was made by a group of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The results of their study published in the journal Science.
There’s a Spider That Makes Milk https://t.co/GnlxaVgfRT
Toxeus magnus jumping spider feeds its offspring a highly nutritious fluid secreted from its underside #arachnid #wildlife pic.twitter.com/Chpi38AeEE
— Doing Things Differently (@dtdchange) 1 December 2018.
Toxeus magnus belong to the family of jumping spiders. They live in Southeast Asia live in nests and looks a bit like ants.
The researchers monitored 19 nests Toxeus magnus in the laboratory. They found that during the first 20 days of life the young spiders feed on a milk-like drops, which the spider leaves on the surface of the nest. As they grow older they can cling directly to the mother’s abdomen.
With about three weeks of age, the spiders leave the nest and to hunt. But many prefer to continue to feast on the maternal “milk”. This continues until the onset of puberty at approximately the 40th day.
According to scientists, nutritional liquid Toxeus magnus contains four times more protein than cows milk. It also contains fat and sugar. Spider milk is secreted from the epigastric furrow to the mother near the ovipositor.
.@JosephTLapp this is a cool story on Toxeus magnus by @bbguari in @washingtonposthttps://t.co/WSn8l7OjDx
— Jason E. Farabaugh (@JasonEFarabaugh) November 30, 2018.