Why do some female spiders eat their partner after having a satisfactory sexual relationship? According to a study published in the latest issue of the journal American Naturalist, it is nothing personal. Simply put, when hungry, females try to snack on their mate after mating. But they only commit the act of sexual cannibalism when the relative size of the male is much smaller . For example, the famous black widow ( Latrodectus matans ) usually weighs thirty times more than the male, who is usually eaten to strengthen the future mother and ensure a good laying. However, the females of another exotic species, the wolf spider ( Hogna helluo ) , never eat their mates if they are large. In the world of arachnids, says researcher and co-author Shawn Wilder, size is much more important than we thought.
In any case, males are not always resigned to their fate. Some wait for the female to be entertained by capturing other prey to copulate. Others, such as male black widows, tend to entangle their partner with threads of silk shortly before mating. In this way, they limit their movements and can escape once the act is completed.
