When stressed, these male spiders woo mates with empty ‘take-out containers’ instead of dinner | Live Science
The spider starts by wrapping the insect in silk over and over until it forms a nice, little ball with a juicy treat hidden inside. “And then they start to walk along the river, along the stones,” Albo told Live Science.
If a female takes the bait, she’ll grab onto the gift with her mouth and slowly digest the silk to reach the food inside. While that’s happening, the male mounts the female and they mate.
But some P. ornata males try to mate without going through the hassle of giving a gift. Instead of packaging a piece of food, these males will wrap up something not so tasty, like a leaf or even the leftover bits of an insect they’ve already eaten.
Those darn male spiders. But don’t a lot of female spiders eat the male when they’ve done their job?