Have a spider in the house whose body is the size of a pin head. What on earth does he/she eat to stay alive. He/she has a web and everything. Dustmites maybe??
Also what eats ants (in the UK)?
2007-09-19 00:59:40 · 10 answers · asked by Master J 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
really small flies
2007-09-19 01:05:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Spiders can eat any size insect that is immobilized. They do not bite off pieces. They inject a venom that liquefies the inside of the insect and then they suck out their liquid soup meal. So the little ones could still eat a large fly if it was caught. They just would get more meals out of it than a large spider would.
Ants tend to taste like the formic acid they have in them. That makes them not very pleasant to most predators. I think some birds might want them but not many species at that.
2007-09-19 11:48:26 · answer #2 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well you're on to something with your observation - in fact spiders can't digest solids no matter how small the pieces are - they can only drink fluids - they make the digestible fluids by injecting poison which melts the insects insides and then the spider sucks out whats left - thats why you can always see dried out insect husks around a spider's web!
2007-09-19 15:33:51 · answer #3 · answered by Leviathan 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The very small bodied spider could be daddy longlegs[harvestman] will eat micro organisms. Some ants like the small red food ants will eat small bits of meat and cheese.
2007-09-23 05:27:02 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're probably right and allsorts of small bugs.
I've got a spider in my bathroom, been there all summer and has grown on a diet of flies. The last one he caught about 3 weeks ago is over twice his size and should last him till Christmas. He also ate some really small things that you have to strain to see.
2007-09-19 08:18:29 · answer #5 · answered by Quizard 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Little spiders eat about the same as big spiders. The only difference is that they eat flies etc in smaller pieces. Birds will eat ants and find them tasty. As the ants live underground they are not so readily available. The birds love the flying ant season.
2007-09-19 08:17:08 · answer #6 · answered by ANF 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Really small spiders eat their mums and then start on each other until they're big enough to take on small flys (aphids etc.)
Ants are fairly bullet proof as they run in such a big posse, but a rival colony wouldn't be adverse to picking a few off.
2007-09-19 08:12:19 · answer #7 · answered by Ring of Uranus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hedge sparrows eat ants iv got two in me garden an loads of ants
2007-09-21 16:00:14 · answer #8 · answered by 137 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one thing that does eat ants in the uk is a bird called the Green Woodpecker!!! god knows whatelse does!!!
2007-09-19 08:10:35 · answer #9 · answered by John H 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
flies.
2007-09-19 13:44:02 · answer #10 · answered by jose 61 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋