How do you stay safe when a prospective mate may want to eat you? If you’re a male jumping spider, you might first make sure she wants to play. The males of the newly described Australian species Jotus remus cautiously woo mates by hiding behind leaves and sticking out their extended, paddle-shaped legs. As the female attacks these decoys, the male deftly avoids her, sometimes scuttling to the other side of the leaf to keep his distance. If she wants to mate, then she eventually stops—and that’s when the suitor makes his move. He gives two more vigorous shakes of his paddles, then flips to the female’s side of the leaf and mounts her in just over a second. Playing this game seems to allow the male to keep his distance while he makes sure his prospective mate is interested. And it works. As the authors report this month in Peckhamia, every single male they observed escaped without injury. Males of some other jumping spider species attract females with bright, colorful displays—for this species, it seems a little caution can go a long way.
Source: http://www.sciencemag.org
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