Welsh Spider from an Unusual Angle
Sep 9, 2019 05:58:41 #
I was processing pictures I’d taken of two spiders having a bit of a fight when this one caught my eye.
Not an angle I’ve seen before, I found the detail fascinating so thought I would share.
Not an angle I’ve seen before, I found the detail fascinating so thought I would share.
Sep 9, 2019 09:13:11 #
Very nice shot Paul and showing lots of detail of this male spider.
Sep 9, 2019 10:00:11 #
Sep 9, 2019 10:42:41 #
Sep 10, 2019 00:40:12 #
Sep 10, 2019 01:02:17 #
The palps (small forelegs) of a male spider are larger than a female's palps. Male palps are used to transfer sperm sacks to the female receptacle. I believe sperm sacks can be seen on each palp of your male spider. I suspect that you witness attempted mating, not exactly fighting.
Sep 10, 2019 02:35:38 #
EnglishBrenda wrote:
Very nice shot Paul and showing lots of detail of this male spider.
Thanks Brenda.
I was going to ask the obvious ….. so I looked it up, “boxing gloves on the end of arms” is a vision that will stick with me for some time ……..
Sep 10, 2019 02:40:25 #
Sep 10, 2019 03:01:08 #
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
👍 Were they fighting or... 😘?
Now that puts a different light on it ……….
I wonder if I can sex the other spider although to my, very, untrained eye, they looked quite different types.
Although thinking about it, here is what I saw (please remember I know nothing about spiders).
Both spider advanced and retreated from each other up and down a web thread. After a bit of mutual front leg waving the female (assume for the moment it was female) hung motionless while the male spent some time advancing and retreating waving its front legs. The male then leapt on to the female who suddenly became active quickly threw the male off. It was then the male’s turn to hang motionless for a few minutes.
The whole sequence was then repeated one more time before they retreated to either end of the plant ……….. so maybe it was mating
I’ve posted a pic of the underside of the other and larger spider.
Sep 10, 2019 03:14:36 #
Nikonian72 wrote:
The palps (small forelegs) of a male spider are larger than a female's palps. Male palps are used to transfer sperm sacks to the female receptacle. I believe sperm sacks can be seen on each palp of your male spider. I suspect that you witness attempted mating, not exactly fighting.
Thanks for the information Douglass
Sep 10, 2019 06:37:38 #
The other is a female, and it was a mating attempt. In these spiders (orb weavers) males are considerably smaller than females and the male must be very cautious and do a lot of signaling to convey his identity & intentions.
So this turned out to be an interesting observation!
So this turned out to be an interesting observation!
Sep 10, 2019 08:48:28 #
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
The other is a female, and it was a mating attempt. In these spiders (orb weavers) males are considerably smaller than females and the male must be very cautious and do a lot of signaling to convey his identity & intentions.
So this turned out to be an interesting observation!
So this turned out to be an interesting observation!
Thanks Mark, insight much appreciated.
Assuming mating has or will eventually takes place, should I be looking for an egg sack? If so how soon.
Sep 10, 2019 10:12:51 #
Sep 10, 2019 10:56:44 #
Sep 11, 2019 07:56:47 #
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