Spider Sex????

Yesterday I shared some photographs and told you about the banana spider near our back door. She is still there and a male banana spider has showed up in her web. Sounds kind of typical doesn't it? A male caught in a female's web.

 If you look closely at the picture above the small spider directly above the large female is the male banana spider. As stated yesterday there is a big difference in the size of the two sexes. What about spider sex?

Banana spiders go through several molting stages. The final stage is the most interesting. About four days before the final molt the female stops eating and repairing the web. Yesterday must not have been part of that four day period as our lady was eating a dragonfly last evening. Around the time of this final molt a mature dominate male will move into the web and spend a few days getting to know the female. Doesn't that sound nice. He goes over to her place and hangs out for a few days before he tries to have sex with her. Probably wandering around the web eating whatever she has caught and is not now willing to eat. Wonder if there is any conversation during those days. Does he try to impress her with tricks or just waves his junk at her from a safe distance.

When the male approaches the female for copulation he stimulates her by vibrating his abdomen with a plucking motion. his attempts to arouse her in this matter prevents him from becoming her meal. So, it goes like this, he plays with himself and if she doesn't find this stimulating well he's dead. If inseminated the female spins at least two egg sacks about one inch in diameter. The male then guards the female. The mature female will live about a month after the final molt while the male will live about 2 or 3 weeks.

So there you have it. Spend some time hanging around the female's place, do a good job with foreplay, guard her after she has the little ones and maybe she won't kill you. Seems like banana spiders aren't that much different than us.