The
farmer
spider
is
indigenous
to the
rainforests
of
Peru
. It
differs
from most
spiders
in that it is a
vegetarian
.
Rather
than
eat
its
prey
it
catches
lactating
insects
and
feeds
them
nearby
leaves
. It
can
hold
up to
fifty
lactating
aphids
in its
web
. It then
milks
its
prey
and
stores
the
milk
in
buckets
woven
from
spider
silk
. These
buckets
are then
left
dangling
from the
web
whereupon
the
spider
secrets
a
rennet
-
like
substance
into each
bucket
. After a
week
or so the
spider
pulls
the
buckets
back
to its
web
where it
feasts
on
aphid
cheese
.
[email redacted]
Monday, 25 October 2004