Thrilling story about female spiders “eating” male spiders right after sex

Spider Weaver Philoponella balls often live in herds, sometimes up to 215, according to published in the journal Current Biology . Study author Shichang Zhang, an associate professor at Hubei University, said different types of spiders, including Philoponella, often eat their mates soon after mating.

In order to escape, male Philoponella spiders will run away from the female immediately when “done”. This is the first time when studying spiders, scientists have shown this.

In fact, the researchers meticulously observed 155 successful matings of Philoponella spiders, in a laboratory setting. “152 cases of male spiders running away from female spiders after mating and they kept their lives,” said associate professor Shichang Zhang, while three male spiders “slowly” caused the female to eat them.

After mating, the male Philoponella spider will fly away to avoid being eaten by the female. Photo: Shichang Zhang

Explaining why the three males were eaten by the female after mating, researcher Zhang said: “Their ability to perceive danger is low or because they are exhausted when mating. It is also possible that they do not. can perform a long shot to escape”.

Using high-speed camera equipment to record male spiders’ escape attempts, the researchers found that male spiders often press on females with their front legs, then jump off their mates at speeds up to 88 cm/sec. Philoponella spiders can also spin up to 469 rpm while running to avoid being eaten by the female.

“I think mainly to avoid the female, the launching and turning makes it difficult for the female to catch it,” the researcher said.

When the researchers deliberately prevented some of the male spiders from launching, all of them were eaten by the female. They believe that running away from females is a necessary survival skill for male spiders. Besides, male spiders also use silk to “tie” the female before “running away”.

Male Philoponella spiders can zoom as far as 88 cm / s to preserve their lives against female spiders. Photo: Shichang Zhang

The study also showed that if Associate Professor Zhang’s team “controlled” one or both of their forelegs, the male spiders would still “flirt with a girlfriend” but not attempt to mate.

It is not clear why female spiders “eat” male spiders after mating, but it is possible that it is “test of female spiders to see if male spiders are worthy to be the father of their children”, researcher Zhang said. .

Unlike mammals, female spiders have a sac in the reproductive tract called the seminiferous tubules that stores sperm and prevents it from reaching an egg. After mating, the female spider will decide whether to use the male spider’s sperm to reproduce or not.

“If desired, the female spider will force the sperm to meet the egg, otherwise it can force the sperm out of the body or change the pH of the sperm sac and destroy the sperm,” Zhang added. .