Spider love

[hoodat]

I see my spidy is the star on this weeks picture.
I've been getting a kick out of watching the courtship of her for the past week. That's when I first noticed the male at the very corner of her web. He is tiny compared to her and he has been veeery slowly inching his way across her web a tiny bit each day. Finally this morning he is facing her through the web. The remaining question is whether he will end up as her lover or her breakfast.

 

[hoodat]

As I understand it, after the deed is done he's supposed to run like H***. Boy, talk about tough love.

 

[Warthog]

Do all spiders eat the male after courtship? I know some do, but thought it was only certain species.

 

[journey11]

I was glad to see your spider made the POW. I thought it was a great pic too!

 

[hoodat]

Do all spiders eat the male after courtship? I know some do, but thought it was only certain species.

They don't all get eaten but it's very easy for them to get mistaken for prey. That's why they have to tiptoe so carefully across the web. If they cause any vibrations they could trigger the predator reflex.

Sort of like an errant husband trying to tiptoe into the house at 3 AM.

 

[lesa]

Keep us posted! Much better than reality TV!

 

[Collector]

I know just how he feels sometimes.LOL. You must let us know if he makes it out alive or not!

 

[hoodat]

The latest in our exciting spidy soap opera is that he either chickened out or she broke his heart. Yesterday evening he had retreated all the way back to the edge of the web, almost where he started, to sulk. This morning he has gotten his nerve back and is slowly making another move. At least he survived the first attempt. The difference in size is amazing. It's like the difference between a tiger and a mouse. Maybe if he joined a gym and muscled up she'd be more interested. I tried to get a pic but I'll have to wait till he's closer. Right now it's almost impossible to get both in focus at the same time.

 

[Warthog]

The suspense is killing me.

 

[hoodat]

The suspense is killing me.

Tune in tomorrow for our next exciting episode of Spidy Love, the garden soap opera.