Spider Sex

12:12 Fri 07 March 2008

There are some things that we might imitate from the animal kingdom – bear hugs, butterfly kisses and doggy style. But this is one thing we really don’t recommend, unless you want to be branded a complete weirdo. What is it? Spider sex.

We aren’t talking about somehow attaching appendages giving that coveted eight-legged look, or constructing a soft and bouncy - if a little sticky - web in the corner of your room. We’re talking about playing dead.

Imagine: “Hey honey, I’ve got an idea. You come into the room and find my dead body and have sex with it. What d’ya think?” Somehow we don’t see this going down well – unless you and your partner are veeery open-minded.

But for spiders nothing works better than this bit of role play. According to new research, female spiders love nothing more than a male who plays dead. The female even chucks him around a bit just to make sure he’s an ex-spider, having shuffle orf this mortal coil, and then begins to copulate with him – then the male suddenly comes back to life – funny that.

Males, who play dead, tend to attract more mates and enjoy longer copulating time. But once again, inviting your new date down to the mortuary, and then trying to get laid (in a drawer), will probably only land you in jail…

(Image: from CarlosMendoza’s flickr stream)