To escape death, these male orb-weaver spiders catapult away after mating:
For the male orb-weaver spider, love bites. If they don’t escape immediately after mating, they are promptly consumed by their female partner. But a new study reveals a trick the males deploy to avoid this fate: They catapult away from their cannibalistic mates in a never-before-described feat of arachnid gymnastics.
To get a better look at how the males make this impressive escape, researchers recorded orb-weavers mating in the lab with high-resolution video, where they closely captured the precious postcoital moments . From the videos, they calculated that the males’ catapulting speed was on average 65 centimeters per second—and that they rotateNext, the scientists examined the male orb-weavers under a microscope.
The researchers say they think female cannibalism and male catapulting evolved “antagonistically” alongside one another. Next, they hope to study female mating choices—and whether females pick mates who are most adept at acrobatically avoiding their postcoital advances.
Argentina Últimas Noticias, Argentina Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
These Spiders Spring Off Their Mates to Avoid Sexual CannibalismEnergy stored in the front legs of gangly orb-weaving spiders helps them live to mate another day
Leer más »
ADOC looking for escaped inmateThe Alabama Department of Corrections is searching for an escaped inmate who escaped Saturday.
Leer más »
Fight sparks fatal shooting at 47th Street and Cottage Grove in Bronzeville, police sayA male victim was fatally shot after a fight with another male shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday in the 4700 block south Cottage Grove Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago police said.
Leer más »