The journey of finding a mate for the male jumping spider can be a rough one, even deadly. Unfortunately, these male critters cannot tell many species of spiders apart, and therefore will court almost any type of female spider they encounter. This means that some species of hungry female spiders will gobble them right up if they show up unwelcomed.
Likely in an attempt to be identified, and to impress the female, the male performs a dance, and even a song, from a safe distance. The decision is then in the female’s hands: to submit to the courting or to end the spider’s life if she feels threatened.
“People might be interested to know that their yard is teeming with confused, but adorable, male jumping spiders that are running around singing and dancing for every female in sight and that these males spiders are pretty clueless about how to find the right species of female,” says University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences entomologist Lisa Taylor.
Source: Male Jumping Spiders Court Whomever, Whenever; Females Decide Who Lives, Dies. PCTonline.com
