what do jumping spiders eat

Jumping spiders are small, active hunters that mostly eat other tiny animals, especially insects and other spiders.

H1: What Do Jumping Spiders Eat?

Jumping spiders are carnivores that stalk and pounce on moving prey rather than using webs to trap food.

They judge distance with their big front eyes, then leap onto prey like tiny cats.

Main Foods They Eat

• Small flies (fruit flies, houseflies, green/blue bottle flies)

• Gnats and midges

• Mosquitoes when they can catch them

• Small moths and other soft-bodied insects

• Tiny crickets and locusts, appropriately sized for the spider

• Small roaches, especially in captivity

• Other spiders (they can be araneophagic, meaning spider‑eating)

Mini view: In the wild vs as pets

• In the wild, they eat whatever small bugs they can overpower: flies, gnats, small moths, and sometimes other spiders.

• As pets, people commonly feed them fruit flies (for babies), blue/green bottle flies, small crickets, roaches, and occasionally mealworms or waxworms.

Special Extras: Nectar and Plant Bits

Most jumping spiders are insect hunters, but some will also drink nectar or feed on pollen.

One famous species, Bagheera kiplingi , eats mostly plant structures (Beltian bodies on acacia plants), which is rare for spiders.

They are not known to eat seeds or fruit like a typical herbivore, so “plant food” is more of an occasional supplement than a main diet.

Simple HTML Table of Common Foods

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Food type</th>
      <th>Examples</th>
      <th>Wild or pet?</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Flies</td>
      <td>Fruit flies, houseflies, bottle flies</td>
      <td>Both</td>
      <td>Staple food; easy to catch and very common. [web:2][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Small insects</td>
      <td>Gnats, midges, small moths, small crickets</td>
      <td>Both</td>
      <td>Good hunting practice and nutritious prey. [web:2][web:3][web:5][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Other spiders</td>
      <td>Tiny web-building spiders</td>
      <td>Wild</td>
      <td>Some species specialize in hunting other spiders. [web:1][web:2]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Roaches</td>
      <td>Small Dubia or red runner roaches</td>
      <td>Pet</td>
      <td>Popular feeder, but must be small enough not to threaten the spider. [web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Worm-like prey</td>
      <td>Mealworms, waxworms</td>
      <td>Pet</td>
      <td>Occasional treat; can be too big or low in nutrition if overused. [web:3][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Nectar & pollen</td>
      <td>Plant nectaries, pollen grains</td>
      <td>Wild</td>
      <td>Supplemental energy source; most still mainly eat insects. [web:1][web:6][web:8]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

“Quick Scoop” – If You Have One as a Pet

If you’re feeding a pet jumping spider:

1. Choose prey smaller than the spider’s body (not counting legs) so it can safely overpower it.

2. Good staples: fruit flies for tiny spiderlings, then bottle flies or small crickets/roaches as it grows.

3. Offer food every few days, adjusting if the spider refuses food or looks very plump.

4. Avoid wild-caught bugs from areas with pesticides or unknown chemicals.

A typical “day in the life”: the spider sits in a good vantage point, spots a moving fly, stalks closer, then launches a precise jump to tackle it and inject venom to digest the prey.

TL;DR

Jumping spiders mainly eat small live insects (especially flies) and sometimes other spiders, with a few species also sipping nectar or nibbling plant-based structures.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.