What is the nutritional value of Jumping Spider milk?
Jumping spider milk is real, but it is food for baby spiders, not humans. A 2018 Science study of the jumping spider Toxeus magnus found the mother feeds her young a milk-like fluid for about 40 days. Reported figures are roughly 2 mg sugar, 5 mg fat and 124 mg protein per milliliter. Nobody sells it or has studied it as human food.
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In this article
Do jumping spiders make milk?
Yes, at least one species does. A 2018 study in the journal Science examined Toxeus magnus, a jumping spider. Mothers produce a nutritious, milk-like fluid from the opening where eggs are laid and feed it to their young, an unusual case of milk-like feeding outside mammals.
What is in jumping spider milk?
Science News, reporting on the study, gives about these amounts per milliliter:
| Nutrient | About, per ml |
|---|---|
| Sugar | 2 mg |
| Fat | 5 mg |
| Protein | 124 mg |
Science News says the milk has about four times the protein of cow’s milk. These are research figures from one species in lab conditions. Vitamin and mineral content for this milk was not found in the sources we read, so do not trust claims listing calcium or zinc.
How long do spiderlings drink it?
The young depend on milk alone for their first 20 days. After that they begin to hunt but keep drinking from their mother for almost three more weeks, about 40 days in total. When researchers sealed the milk-producing opening at hatching, all the young died within about 10 days.
Is spider milk the same as spider silk?
No. Silk is the protein thread spiders spin. Milk is a liquid the mother secretes to feed her babies. Some websites confuse the two.
Can humans drink it?
No. The amount produced is tiny, it is not harvested, and there is no safety or nutrition data for human consumption. Claims that it is anti-inflammatory or beneficial for human health are not supported by the study.
People also ask
What is in jumping spider milk?
Reported per milliliter: about 2 mg sugar, 5 mg fat and 124 mg protein, per Science News on the 2018 study.
Is jumping spider milk the same as spider silk?
No. Silk is spun thread; milk is a nutrient fluid the mother feeds to her young.
Can people drink spider milk?
No. It is not collected or sold and has not been tested for human food.
Sources
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