Male Spiders Play Dead for Sex, Apparently It's Working Out for Them

Emily Farris — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:03:00 GMT

So, let's get this straight. When a male spider just lies there with a little bit of food hanging out of his mouth, a female spider will ride him all night long, spidey-style?

Not all male nursery web spiders looking for a little arachnid sex adopt this technique, but those that do more than double their chances of hitting the jackpot, according to new study in Behavioral Ecology...

But the ones that lay flat and motionless -- even if meant getting dragged about by a female that had latched onto the victuals -- wound up in a much better position, as it were, to engage in sexual activity.
Males that played dead were also allowed to copulate longer than males that did not, ensuring more eggs could [be] fertilized, the researchers reported.

Glad that's working out for you, spiders, but I'd like to be the first to say: men, don't try this at home.

[AFP: Male spiders play dead for sex: study]

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Male Spiders Play Dead for Sex, Apparently It's Working Out for Them