It is well known that spiders hatch the next generation by laying eggs, so how did they complete their reproductive preparation before that? What physiological properties do they have? If you study it carefully, this is a very interesting process, we may wish to start from the structure of the spider itself, and explore the interesting process of spider breeding and mating together.
The physiology of spiders and hermaphroditics
Spiders are almost unable to distinguish between male and female during the wakanthritis period. For example, garden spiders, if the female spider and the male spider in the spider stage have six or five kinds of silk glands each, the male spider can also weave almost exactly the same web as the female spider, so the female and male spiders are not only difficult to distinguish from the appearance of the body, but also difficult to distinguish from the web type. However, after the last molting enters the spider-forming stage, there will be obvious differences in the structure of the body.
The tarsal segments at the ends of the male spiders expand to form "tentacles", while the females maintain the original elongated tarsal segments, and the hidden spiders can identify the sex according to whether the end of the tentacles is enlarged or not. Another difference between female and male spiders is the appearance of a mating "exovirtual organ" structure at the ventral base of the female's abdomen.
Of course, it can also be distinguished by body shape, and adult spiders will have obvious changes in body shape. The male spider has a smaller abdomen, but the foot is more developed, which is suitable for wandering around in the process of finding the female spider. The Spider Naturalist writes that the female spiders of the spotted bride can reach 35 to 50 mm long, while the male spiders are only 7 to 10 mm long. The main reason for the difference is that the female spiders that enter the adult stage must form a web to prey on in order to supplement the nutrients used for spawning, so the spit glands in the abdomen still exist, and the development of eggs in the genitals makes the abdomen more expanded. Of course, there are other ways to distinguish between them, such as the distinctive body color of the male spider, but there are many types of subdivisions, which will not be repeated here.
Spider mating patterns
Spiders do not mate with each other by combining the abdominal ends of females and males, as insects do. Insect mating is the direct combination of the reproductive organs of both females and males, while spider mating is when the male spider makes contact with the external female organ of the reproductive auxiliary organ to mate, somewhat similar to dragonfly mating. This form of mating is extremely rare in the animal kingdom.
Male spiders that enter the adult spider stage use the silk glands that still exist to form a fine web that is consistent with the size of the body (Spider Naturalism: Mature male spiders make a very small spider web before mating, an area of less than one square centimeter, this web is called a fine web) The male spider drops semen into the sperm web, and then moves the body slightly, sucking the semen into the expanded tentacles at the end of the tentacles.
In the tentacles, the fertilization capacity of the sperm can be maintained for a period of time. When the male spider has finished collecting his semen, he has completed all the preparations, and then he has traveled in search of a mating partner.
Male spiders running for "love", the secret of different male spiders to find love
How exactly can a male spider who embarks on a journey to find a female spider in search of a couple? It is not easy to find a female spider of the same species in the vast wilderness. But don't worry, the offspring of the spider continue to show that the male spider must have some secrets in finding a mate! The process of finding amate will vary depending on the lifestyle of the spider, and The Spider Naturalism is divided into the following three categories according to different lifestyles:
Knotted web spider: The web spider is generally less visually developed, and the male spider can only rely on his own spitting kung fu, moving from one place to another, as flexible as Tarzan of the Ape. Its range of motion is quite wide, and the female spider seems to secrete a hormone that seduces the male spider, so it is easier for the male to find the location of the female spider. But this behavior also often causes incidental troubles. For example, some spiders, in the web of a female spider, often have several male spiders waiting for the opportunity to mate, and thus launch a life-and-death war.
Ground-dwelling spiders: This type of spider, both female and male spiders live in the soil, but male spiders that enter the reproductive period will leave their homes to find female spiders. Therefore, during the courtship period, it is easy to see the male spiders of the ground-dwelling type wandering around. Female spiders also often find male spiders that live with them. However, whether the male spider is lured by the hormones secreted by the female spider remains to be investigated. Disc-bellied spiders also belong to the ground-dwelling spider, in which the female spider has the habit of going out hunting at night, at this time the female spider pulls the silk away, and a certain smell on it is likely to become a clue for the male spider to find the female spider. Interestingly, when the male spider finds the female spider's home, he will lightly hit the nest web with his tentacles and forefoot, and if the female spider is interested, she will open the door and let the male spider bite through the nest net to enter.
Nomadic spiders: This type of spider has a more developed vision, and the male spider uses his eyes to find a mating partner when wandering, which is particularly evident in jumping spiders. Of course, they are not only appearance associations! For example, when some male tarantula encounters the drag of the female spider during wandering, it will change the original footwork and start to look for the female spider, but at this time, if the drag of the spider encountered by other species of spider is found, the behavior of finding the female spider will be terminated immediately.
In short, male spiders not only have different ways of finding a mate, but also have a variety of tricks. The courtship behavior of male spiders with web-shaped spiders has a certain process. It first flicks the web in the corner of the female spider's web, flicks the web with its forefoot, and repeats this action repeatedly, sometimes for three or four days. Ground-dwelling spiders are more "straight males", there is almost no complex courtship behavior before mating, and they rely on their sense of smell to find the opposite sex. The nomadic spider appears to have a relatively high emotional intelligence! They "dance courtship", and although there is no obvious dance posture, they will raise the front half of the body and swing the forefoot up and down. But as long as the female doesn't leave, the male will be patient and jump around the female for hours! Here I really want to call on the majority of male compatriots to study it well!