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Spider behaviors include oral sexual encounters
Matjaž Gregorič1, Klavdija Šuen1, Ren-Chung Cheng1
1Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia.
Scientific Reports
|April 30, 2016
Summary
Darwin's bark spider exhibits extreme sexual behaviors including cannibalism and genital mutilation. Males also engage in oral sex, a rare spider behavior, potentially signaling quality or reducing sperm competition.
Area of Science:
- Arachnology
- Ethology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Extreme sexual behaviors are observed in large-clawed female spiders, but are poorly studied in most size-dimorphic species.
- Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini) is a Madagascan species known for its large webs and tough silk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sexual behavior of Darwin's bark spider, Caerostris darwini.
- To document the repertoire of sexual behaviors in this size-dimorphic spider species.
Main Methods:
- Field and laboratory observations of Caerostris darwini mating behaviors.
- Analysis of sexual cannibalism, genital mutilation, and male-female interactions.
Main Results:
- Caerostris darwini exhibits predictable sexual cannibalism, genital mutilation, and emasculation.
- Males show a preference for teneral (newly molted) females.
- Males engage in oral sexual contact, salivating on female genitalia pre-, during, and post-copulation, a behavior rarely seen in spiders.
Conclusions:
- The sexual behavior of Caerostris darwini is complex and includes extreme acts previously documented in other spider clades.
- Oral sexual contact in C. darwini males is a novel finding in spiders, with potential roles in signaling male quality or mitigating sperm competition.