What is Jumping Spider milk?
Jumping spider milk is real, but it is not a drink: a nutritious fluid that mother Toxeus magnus jumping spiders secrete from the epigastric furrow to feed their young. A 2018 study in Science found that spiderlings denied the milk stopped developing and died within 10 days. It is a biology finding, not a food product.
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In this article
What is jumping spider milk?
It is a milk-like fluid produced by females of Toxeus magnus, an ant-mimicking jumping spider. The mother secretes droplets from her epigastric furrow, and the spiderlings drink them. The finding was published in 2018 in the journal Science by researchers at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
What did the study find?
According to the ScienceDaily summary of the study:
- Spiderlings did not leave the nest to forage until about 20 days old and fed on the milk until about 40 days, the subadult stage.
- Spiderlings denied the milk stopped developing and died within 10 days.
- With maternal care and milk, 76% of hatched offspring reached adulthood.
The summary we read calls the fluid nutritious but does not give its composition, so we state no nutrient numbers.
What does spider milk taste like?
Nobody has published a taste description, and it is not a food. The droplets are tiny and are produced for spiderlings, so there is nothing to buy or try. Treat claims of taste, smell or sale with suspicion.
Is it related to human or cow milk?
It is a similar idea, parental provisioning of nutrient-rich fluid, but made by an invertebrate and not by mammary glands.
Common misunderstandings
- It is not a dairy alternative or supplement.
- It is not harvested; spiders are tiny.
- Do not search for it as a health product. Any seller of spider milk is not selling this.
People also ask
Do spiders really make milk?
Yes, one species: the jumping spider Toxeus magnus produces a milk-like fluid for its young, shown in a 2018 Science study.
What does jumping spider milk taste like?
No tasting has been reported. It is a tiny secretion for spiderlings, not a food.
Can humans drink it?
It is not collected or sold, and there is no safety information. It is not a human food.
Sources
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