Spiders eating... cookie crumbs?

Question

This started out as a cute family anecdote; my great grandma, once upon a time, used to have a little spider friend living in some corner of her house or another who would come down from its web to drink droplets of water and eat bread or cookie crumbs from her fingertip.

Cute, but dumb. After all, spiders don't eat baked goods; they're predators. They're probably too simple to even register crumbs as a food source for any animal; I would think that the spider would see it as rubbish and ignore it.

So I smile and nod, privately think it's silly, and life goes on. Right?

Well... my cousin apparently thought this was a cute trick, because many years after I'd heard the original story, my cousin told me that she'd similarly 'adopted' a spider that lived near her kitchen sink. The spider's name was (very original) Charlotte, and yes, she too allegedly ate crumbs right off of my cousin's fingertip.

Now I'm confused, because although lots of study, observation, and logic says this is still dumb, I'm reluctant to disbelieve my cousin entirely. She's older that me (technically my mom's cousin), and she's not exactly stupid usually. Not only that, I don't like to think she'd totally fabricate something, especially with the amount of detail she'd throw into the story.

So... bearing in mind that I'm not an idiot and I know how spiders work, I'm wondering if anyone else can shed some light on this. I'd experiment, myself, but it just feels stupid holding crumbs out for a spider. Has anyone else heard/experienced similar situations? Can any fellow spider enthusiasts point out some random factoid that I'd overlooked that would make this story... less stupid?

Just curious. Any input would be appreciated, since it's sure to be interesting either way.

Answer 1

I'm anxious to see the retorts of some arachnid aficionados. Either way it's a cool story.

Answer 2

Well....it is true. I went to my brothers house one day and he lives out in the country. They have lots of spiders in the house, and one day my sister-in-law came out in the kitchen and found a spider eating feasting on a cookie crumb on the floor.....I am totally amazed at some of the ridiculous things that people eat, so what is so amazing about a spider eating a cokkie crumb?

Answer 3

Simply put, spiders cannot digest or chew solid food.

I would put a tiny piece of watermelon, pear, or apple on the floor

by the kitchen cabinets. after a while, Herman, a rather large huntsman spider would crawl over and spend a brief time with this goodie.

I often wondered if he was eating this. 'Nope' just drinking the

water from it.

(If you tried to put your hand near Herman, he would run.)

Answer 4

spiders eat flies. Flies are Solid Foods. Daniel G is a dumbass