BROWN WIDOW SPIDERS PREFER SEX WITH OLDER FEMALES WHO WILL EAT THEM AFTER!

in #nature7 years ago

Brown widow male spiders prefer sex with older females likely to eat them afterwards.

Male brown widow spiders seek to mate with older, less-fertile females that are 50 percent more likely to eat them after sex, according to Israeli researchers in a study published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

"We originally thought the males would prefer the sub-adult females, as they are more fertile and far less likely to cannibalize them, but we were surprised to discover that was not the case," the researchers said.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-04-brown-widow-male-spiders-sex.html#jCp

https://phys.org/news/2018-04-brown-widow-male-spiders-sex.html