Researcher discovers another species of spider that eats male after sex

Besides the Madagascan Darwin bark spider, a scientist has discovered another species in which the female eats the male spider after sex. The unlucky male spiders belong to the Cyrtophora citricola species.

Eric Yip, a behavioural ecologist and author of a new study, published in PLOS ONE journal, discovered the unique set-up of members of the orb-weaving spider family found in arachnid colonies in the Mediterranean, reports The Washington Post. He began his research on the Cyrtophora citricola spiders when he was still a post-doctoral student at Ben Gurion University in Israel.

He says that the male spider is aware of the purpose of his existence, which is to fertilise the egg of a female spider. After mating, he becomes his lover’s next meal. “All they can do is just try to get as much fitness out of their own copulation as they can,” Yip explains.

The ecologist adds, “He’s really no more use to her,” except as “a nice protein-rich meal.” Because the male is just one-fourth the size of the female and is not good in running, 80 percent of the time the male spider meets his end after fertilising the female spider.

Although a native to the Mediterranean, the spiders have spread on almost all continents as an invasive species. Unlike male members of a species in most of the animal world which try to mate as many females as possible, the male Cyrtophora citricola is choosy.

He opts for younger, larger virgin females so he would not compete with other spider’s sperm. Most often, he would play hard-to-get if he is not impressed with a female spider and would run away to search for a female worthy of his semen. However, older male spiders are less choosy because they are aware they have lesser time left to mate with a female arachnid before their lives end.

In contrast, the female Madagascan Darwin bark spider first forces the male spider to perform oral sex on her up to 100 times, and then after she is fertilised, she kills the male.