Flower spider mating

Flower spider mating

Today I finally managed to get close to a flower spider, something most of you are probably trying to avoid. The arachnid seemed to be struggling with an insect, so I was quite excited with the possibility of some action shots and started clicking away.

It soon became obvious that the insect was in fact a male flower spider. Now I knew I was onto something special. These spiders are hard enough to find in the first place, so to find a mating pair is a rarity indeed.

Obtaining a clear view was difficult, as they wrestled away in the thick of a flower head, but then the white female lowered the two of them into clear space by a thread and that is where the copulation took place. The problem now was that they were twirling around, but the twirling stopped for an instant and that is when I got my shot. I had no idea that I had caught the mating act, I could only hope.

The male flower spider is a lot smaller than the female, but the size difference is not as exaggerated as that of the golden orb weaver. Still a different technique is employed than the normal locking of fangs. The male sits on the females abdomen and inserts his seed with his pedipalps, as can be seen in the blipped image.

Once the deed was done, the female pulled the pair back up to the bloom. They stayed together a while longer before the male made good his escape. The female did not seem to make an attempt to attack the male.

I did find two images of this species mating, but none came as close to capturing copulation as this image. I did not find any mention of hanging by a thread for copulation, so that is a new one.

Hope they don't disturb your breakfast!

Dave