Watch: Male spiders catapult themselves to avoid being eaten after sex

Jennifer Walter 4.25.2022 3:00 PM Man eater It’s just a fling! Shichang Zhang

When it comes to sex, female orb-weaving spiders have the upper hand.

Females are larger than their male partners, and also cannibalize males shortly after mating.

Shutterstock So how does an itsy bitsy male spider avoid being eaten? In one species of orb-weavers, Philoponella prominens , males will launch themselves off their female partners shortly after mating.

Researchers described this behavior for the first time in the journal Current Biology.

At normal speed, the jump happens in the blink of an eye.

When slowed down, it’s easier to see the male pry itself from the female and take a leap of survival.

Shichang Zhang Researchers hypothesize that the males keep their legs pressed against the female while mating to create pressure.

Shichang Zhang When released from intercourse, they quickly extend their legs and use that built-up tension to catapult their bodies.

The strategy is extremely effective to avoid becoming a snack.

Akio Tanikawa via Wikimedia Commons Of 155 total matings recorded in the study, 152 male spiders lept from their partners and successfully escaped the females’ hungry mouths.

And when researchers prevented another 30 male spiders from catapulting, they also succumbed to their deaths.

Akio Tanikawa via Wikimedia Commons The three males that did not leap were killed and consumed .

This mechanism could be a litmus test for female spiders looking for suitable mates.

“Females may use this behavior to judge the quality of a male during mating,” study author Shichang Zhang said in a press release. Shichang Zhang

Shichang Zhang If males are able to catapult multiple times, it could be a sign to females that their partners are of quality stock. And if not, well, at least she gets dinner.