Funnel Web Spider
A Sydney funnel-web spiders rears up on its hind legs as a tube used to extract venom is placed nears its claws at the Australian Reptile Park at Gosford, 100 km (60 miles) north of Sydney, January 31, 2001. The spiders, said to be the world's most dangerous, are in demand for their venom, which is used to produce an antidote to the poison. But a fire at the reptile park last July destroyed their colony of 400 funnel-web spiders, making it more difficult to produce. Reuters

Competition among the male members over access to females of their species has resulted in a number of ways by which they try to secure paternity. However, the males of a spider species seem to have reached the next level in securing paternity.

According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, the male member of an orb-weaving spider species, named Larinia jeskovi, mutilate the genitalia of their female counterpart after mating. This is done to protect the female from remating with other male members of the species.

The researchers at the Zoological Institute and Museum at the University of Greifswald in Germany studied the behaviour of orb-weaving spiders of both genders as they mate under observation. The researchers used blasts of liquid nitrogen to freeze the spiders as the male mounted over the female.

The frozen species and their copulation process was further studied using the micro-CT scanned images. The researchers found that the male member of the species removed the scapus from the female genitalia after mating. Scapus is an important organ that helps in the mechanical process of mating.

In addition, the researchers found that all of the female members of the species that they caught after the mating season lacked scapuses. According to the Tech Times, it might be possible that 80 other species of spiders could also be practicing a similar mutilation to maintain paternity security.

Different spider species are known to exhibit different methods to prevent their female partners from remating. For instance, some spiders physically guard their female counterpart after mating, while some transfer manipulative substances to them to reduce their attractiveness toward other spiders.

The researchers believe that female genital mutilation is a widespread but an overlooked phenomenon. It is a known fact that female spiders have the ability to store the sperms for years. Hence, a female spider can produce offsprings continuously even after having only one male partner for the rest of her life.

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