News Animals Proxy Vampire: Spider eats blood by catching mosquitoes By Susan Milius October 12, 2005 at 12:17 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print An extensive battery of arachnid-food tests has shown for the first time that a spider can have a special taste for vertebrate blood, say researchers. BLOOD SEEKER. A small jumping spider prefers to stalk and pounce on blood-engorged mosquitoes. Jackson The jumping spider of East Africa doesn’t have the mouthparts to get vertebrate blood directly, says Ximena J.