ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

We investigated the mating biology of the previously unstudied central European spider Leviellus thorelli (Ausserer 1871) by staging laboratory mating trials using males and females of varying mating histories. Our aim was to seek common themes in sexual behaviors of the sexually size-monomorphic ''zygiellid'' spiders with their putatively close relatives, araneids and nephilids, which are relatively well studied with respect to sexual biology. We found L. thorelli mating biology to more closely resemble that of sexually size-monomorphic araneids than that of dimorphic nephilids. Unlike in nephilids with sexually conflicted adaptations, we found no evidence for genital damage or plugging in Leviellus Wunderlich 2004, although we found rare cases of half-eunuchs. We suggest that the mating system of L. thorelli spiders is determined by short female sexual attractiveness, reduced receptivity after mating and/or intensive mate guarding.
Content may be subject to copyright.
A glimpse into the sexual biology of the ‘‘zygiellid’’ spider genus Leviellus
Simona Kralj-Fisˇer
1
,Matjazˇ Gregoric
ˇ
1
,Tjasˇa Lokovsˇek
1
,Tatjana C
ˇelik
1
, and Matjazˇ Kuntner
1,2,3
:
1
Jovan Hadzˇi Institute
of Biology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, SI-1001 Ljubljana,
Slovenia. E-mail: simonakf@gmail.com;
2
Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA;
3
College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
Abstract. We investigated the mating biology of the previously unstudied central European spider Leviellus thorelli
(Ausserer 1871) by staging laboratory mating trials using males and females of varying mating histories. Our aim was to
seek common themes in sexual behaviors of the sexually size-monomorphic ‘‘zygiellid’’ spiders with their putatively close
relatives, araneids and nephilids, which are relatively well studied with respect to sexual biology. We found L. thorelli
mating biology to more closely resemble that of sexually size-monomorphic araneids than that of dimorphic nephilids.
Unlike in nephilids with sexually conflicted adaptations, we found no evidence for genital damage or plugging in Leviellus
Wunderlich 2004, although we found rare cases of half-eunuchs. We suggest that the mating system of L. thorelli spiders is
determined by short female sexual attractiveness, reduced receptivity after mating and/or intensive mate guarding.
Keywords: Mating system, genital plugging, mate guarding, sexual-size dimorphism, eunuchs
Sexual conflict theory concerns the idea that males and
females may have different goals in reproduction (Watson 1991;
Chapman et al. 2003; Arnqvist & Rowe 2005). As a consequence
of intersexual conflict, various morphological, physiological and
behavioral adaptations have evolved, such as complex genitalia,
multiple sperm storage organs, toxicity of seminal fluids, sexual
cannibalism, and mate guarding (Parker 1984; Austad 1984;
Chapman et al. 1995; Kuntner et al. 2009a; Uhl et al. 2010).
These adaptations along with other demographic and ecological
factors shape the mating system of a species.
Among invertebrates, spiders represent an especially suitable
clade for sexual selection research (Eberhard 2004). In spiders,
the prevailing mating strategy may largely be determined by
two morphological constraints: genital morphology and
delayed female maturation. First, spiders are classified into
entelegyne and haplogyne species (Austad 1984; Uhl 2000; Uhl
et al. 2010; Kuntner et al. 2009a). Haplogyne species possess a
single insemination duct connected to spermathecae exhibiting
last-male sperm priority (Austad 1984; Uhl 2000; Uhl et al.
2010). Alternatively, the entelegyne spiders have separate
insemination and fertilization ducts connected to spermathecae
and overwhelmingly exhibit first-male sperm priority (Austad
1984; Uhl 2000; Uhl et al. 2010). As a consequence, males of
many entelegyne species have evolved mechanisms to avoid or
reduce sperm competition with rival males by pre- or post-
copulatory mate guarding and by the production of mating
plugs (reviewed in Uhl et al. 2010). Although these plugs are
thought to largely prevent or delay subsequent mating, they are
not universally effective even in closely related species, as
studies on nephilid spiders have shown [contrast e.g., Nephila
pilipes (Fabricius 1793), Nephilengys malabarensis (Walckenaer
1841) and Herennia multipuncta (Doleschall 1859)]: Fromhage
et al. 2007; Schneider et al. 2008; Kuntner et al. 2009b; Kralj-
Fisˇer et al. 2011). Besides mechanical plugging of stored sperm
and mate guarding, males employ other mechanisms to reduce
sperm competition. Such an example is chemical manipulation,
where products of male genitalia that are transferred during
copulation may induce female resistance for further matings or
earlier oviposition (Eberhard 1997).
Further behavioral and physiological adaptations also
shape the mating system of a given species. For example, in
highly dimorphic species that produce mating plugs, the small
males are often cannibalized after copulation (Nessler et al.
2009), either due to intersexual conflict (Arnqvist & Rowe
2005; Fromhage & Schneider 2005) or male sacrifice, which
may have a selective advantage in increasing paternity (Elgar
& Nash 1988; Andrade 1996; Elgar et al. 2000; Schneider et al.
2000) leading to monogynous mating systems. In some species,
males are physiologically limited to one mating (Downes 1978;
Michalik et al. 2010) or females are receptive to only one mate
(Alcock & Buchmann 1985).
Finally, female maturation in extremely sexually size
dimorphic species is usually considerably delayed (Higgins
2000; Kuntner & Coddington 2009; Kuntner et al. 2009b).
Along with ecological factors such as the duration of the
reproductive season, the operational sex ratio, the female or
male distribution and/or the travel costs to the mate (Riechert
1974, 1981; Fromhage et al. 2007, 2008), unsynchronized male
and female maturation may substantially constrain an
individual’s copulation frequency.
Clade-wide comparisons in mating behavior are essential
for revealing macroevolutionary patterns of mating strategies;
however, some groups remain largely understudied. Here, we
investigate a spider clade informally named ‘‘Zygiellidae’’,
which contains temperate and subtropical representatives of
several genera exhibiting a moderate sexual-size dimorphism,
but diverse entelegyne genital morphologies (M. Gregoric
ˇ
unpublished data). Our ongoing phylogenetic work suggests a
close association of the ‘‘Zygiellidae’’ group with the families
Nephilidae and Araneidae. Within the former, sexual biology
has been well studied in many genera. Many exhibit extreme
sexual-size dimorphism and sexual cannibalism, where large
females devour tiny males (Kralj-Fisˇer et al. 2011). In
addition, males often engage in genital plugging, genital
damage and mate guarding (Schneider et al. 2008; Kuntner et
al. 2009a,b). In Araneidae, the sexual biology of most genera
remains unstudied, but with some notable exceptions, e.g.,
Argiope (Audouin 1826) with similar sexual phenomena as
2013. The Journal of Arachnology 41:387–391
387
found in Nephilidae (Fromhage et al. 2003; Foellmer &
Fairbairn 2004; Zimmer et al. 2012).
To investigate differences and similarities among the three
groups, we studied the sexual biology of a previously
unstudied ‘‘zygiellid’’ Leviellus thorelli (Ausserer 1871)
(Fig. 1). To determine whether the L. thorelli mating system
is monogamous or polygamous, we collected female and male
L. thorelli and tested them in staged mating experiments. We
measured spider body size to estimate the levels of sexual size
dimorphism (SSD), observed male-male competition and
determined the occurrence of plugging, genital damage and
sexual cannibalism.
METHODS
Study animals.Leviellus thorelli spiders were collected in
September and October 2009 on houses near Lukovica, central
Slovenia (46u099430N, 14u419300E). We collected 64 adult
spiders (33 females and 31 males) and kept them in the
laboratory for behavioral trials. We placed the collected
females into glass frames to allow them to build webs, whereas
males were kept in foam-covered plastic vials. We watered and
fed the spiders twice a week with Drosophila flies and
mealworms and maintained a seasonal light-dark cycle (16:8).
Experimental protocol.—In staged mating experiments in
the laboratory, we observed mating behavior and occurrences
of remating with the same genital organ. Mating was staged by
placing a male in the female web, approximately 10 cm away
from her. We observed male and female pre-copulatory
behavior (courtship), which palp (left/right/both) the male
inserted, how long and how many times the male inserted each
palp, which female copulatory opening (CO; left/right/both)
he inserted into, whether the spiders were aggressive and how
they behaved after copulation (e.g., mate guarding). Each
observation lasted for two hours. After a trial, we gave a
spider 1–12 days of rest before testing for remating.
To make inferences about the mating system, we conducted
four types of experimental trials, depending on female and
male mating history in the laboratory. We never staged a
mating trial between a male and a female that had been
previously tested together. In these trials we mated 1) both
sexes with unknown mating history [n545 trials, n564
spiders (28 individuals that did not mate in their first trial were
reused)], 2) previously copulated female and male with
unknown mating history (female remating, n510 trials), 3)
female with unknown mating history and a previously
copulated male (male remating, n58 trials), and 4) both
male and female previously copulated [female and male
remating, n58 trials (2 males used in Experiment 3 were
reused)]. When pairing already mated individuals, we devised
pairs in such a way that the male could insert his virgin palp
only into the female’s used CO (insertions were always
ipsilateral). For example, we paired a male with a virgin left
palp and a used right palp with a female with a used left CO
and a virgin right CO; hence, the virgin palp could be inserted
only in the used CO and vice versa. If remating did not occur
in two subsequent trials, we concluded that remating with the
used genital organ was not possible.
In three trials we placed two males on a female’s web to
document male-male antagonistic behavior. At the end of all
trials, the spiders were euthanized, fixed in 70%ethanol and
examined morphologically. Voucher specimens are available
from the authors.
Morphological examination.—We examined all specimens
from mating trials for genital damage (n564) and measured
their first tibia+patella lengths, carapace width and carapace
length (n550) under a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope.
Following Kuntner & Coddington (2009), sexual-size dimor-
phism (SSD) is measured as the ratio of female to male body
length (or any other size measure).
We macerated all palps in concentrated KOH overnight in
order to make them transparent and expandable in distilled
water. We excised and examined all epigyna externally, then
macerated each epigynal preparation in concentrated KOH
overnight, and carefully cleaned it with needles in distilled
water (e.g., Kuntner et al. 2009b). This technique exposes the
dorsal epigynal anatomy and renders spermathecae translu-
cent, which allows any embolic leftovers lodged inside
spermathecae to be seen under a stereomicroscope.
Statistical analyses.—We examined the difference in body
size measures between the sexes using the Mann-Whitney U
Test. Correlations between size measures were analyzed using
the Pearson correlation. We used a Generalized Linear Mixed
Model (GLMM) to test the effect of two fixed factors, male
and female mating history in the laboratory (previously
unmated in the laboratory, previously mated in the laborato-
ry) and carapace length; and a random factor (individual code)
on occurrence of copulation (yes, no). We sequentially deleted
fixed terms in order of decreasing significance; only terms with
P#0.1 remained in the final model. We re-entered the
excluded terms one by one into the final model to confirm that
they did not explain a significant part of the variation. We ran
all analyses in PASW Statistics 18 (Field 2005).
RESULTS
SSD.—Patella +tibia I, carapace width and carapace
lengths were significantly correlated (patella +tibia I, carapace
width: r50.63, n550, P,0.001; patella +tibia I, carapace
Figure 1.—Female (A) and male (B) of the monomorphic Leviellus
thorelli. Scale bar 55 mm.
388 THE JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY
length: r50.62, n550, P,0.001; carapace width, carapace
length r50.71, n550, P,0.001). The sexes differed
significantly in patella +tibia I length (Mann-Whitney U 591,
P,0.001, n550) but not in carapace length and width
(length: Mann-Whitney U 5254.5, P50.264, n550; width:
Mann-Whitney U 5231.5, P50.118, n550). Using carapace
length, SSD in L. thorelli was 1.29, which translates to a
sexually-size monomorphic species (Kuntner & Coddington
2009).
Mating results.—In all staged mating experiments (n571),
a male signaled a female by pulling or drumming on her web.
Typically, he initially remained at the edge of the female’s web
where he attached silk, created a mating thread, plucked the
threads of the female’s web with his front legs and rubbed his
palps. Eventually he walked on the mating thread toward the
female resting in her retreat and sometimes touched her legs
with his front legs. Then he retreated and rhythmically
plucked and beat the mating thread with his front legs. The
male repeated this sequence until the female emerged from her
retreat, if receptive. During courtship, the female usually
moved her first legs and palps and sometimes her abdomen,
and turned toward the male. When (if) the female joined the
male, they touched with legs in venter to venter position, then
suddenly grasped each other with legs to form a ball-shaped
outline (S1.—available online at http://www.bioone.org/doi/
suppl/10.1636/Hi13-08). The male inserted one of his palps
ipsilaterally. After approximately 7 min (mean 6SE, 6.82 6
1.35 min, n517) the female and the male abruptly separated,
the male usually hanging on the mating thread, and the female
retreating (S1). Then, the female typically rubbed her
copulatory openings with the third and fourth legs, whereas
the male positioned himself approximately 3–5 cm away from
the female, plucked the threads, and rubbed and cleaned his
palps. A male always continued to court after copulation, but
in no case did the pair copulate again. In most trials, the
female was not highly aggressive toward the male during or
after copulation, and sexual cannibalism was only observed
after one mating (5.9%). In some cases, however, the female
and the male were aggressive to each other before the
copulation, shaking the web and approaching each other with
open chelicerae. In such cases, mating never ensued.
If two males were introduced into the same female web, they
assumed an aggressive pose toward each other with front legs
extended, shook the web, fought vigorously and chased and
bit each other. In all three cases the larger male chased off the
smaller one (S2.—available online at http://www.bioone.org/
doi/suppl/10.1636/Hi13-08).
Of 71 mating trials (Fig. 2), copulation occurred in only 17
cases (23.9%). The occurrence of mating depended on male
and female mating history (F
95.7,1
541.81; P,0.001). The
male and the female copulated in 37.8%(n545) of the trials
when both of them had not previously copulated in our
experiments; however, we never observed spiders to copulate
in experiments 2, 3 and 4. That is, spiders never remated and
reused the genital organ they had previously used (n526
trials). The random effect was not significant.
Genital damage.—Two mated males (n517) emasculated
one palp to become half-eunuchs (Kuntner et al. 2009b) after
separating from the females they had copulated with. We
found the damaged palps in the males’ vials, implying that
they were not stuck in the female genitalia during copulation
but were rather self-removed after mating. Our morphological
examination revealed no further damage to male pedipalps (n
531) or any plug formation in female copulatory openings,
ducts or spermathecae (n533).
DISCUSSION
One of our goals was to look for common themes in sexual
behaviors of the sexual-size monomorphic ‘‘zygiellids’’ with
their close relatives, araneids and nephilids. Copulation
behavior of Leviellus thorelli resembles that of typical araneid
species; males construct and court on a mating thread, with
responsive females emerging out of the retreat and copulating
with the male in a ‘‘hug posture’’ on the mating thread
(Robinson 1982). Similar to other spiders with low levels of
SSD, male L. thorelli apparently do not damage their genitals
obligatorily and do not produce mating plugs, and females
exhibit low levels of sexual cannibalism. We found little
resemblance to nephilids, where extremely sexual-size dimor-
phic spiders engage in many ritualistic, sexually conflicted
behaviors and strategies (Kuntner 2005, 2006, 2007; Schneider
et al. 2005, 2008; Fromhage et al. 2007; Kuntner et al. 2009a,
b; Zhang et al. 2011). However, laboratory and field
observations of L. thorelli indicate intense mate guarding
probably due to first-male sperm priority, where males should
have reduced fitness benefits when mating with a previously
mated female (Austad 1984). Yet, the question of the mating
system in L. thorelli— and hence questions about macroevo-
lutionary patterns in mating strategies among the three
clades—remains open.
Among our aims was to determine the mating system in L.
thorelli. A male or a female that had previously copulated in
the laboratory was never observed remating, which could
suggest that both sexes in L. thorelli might be either
monogamous or at most bigamous. However, we acknowledge
here a serious limitation of our study, precluding such
definitive conclusion; we collected adult spiders from their
natural setting with unknown mating histories, whereas to be
conclusive, a study would better rear subadults to ensure
virginity. Despite these limitations, the fact is that we never
observed polygamy in L. thorelli, even though each individual
was tested at least twice, with two different potential mates.
Figure 2.—Copulation success in four different combinations of
female and male mating history in the laboratory. Unknown mating
history 5previously not mated in the lab.
KRALJ-FIS
ˇER ET AL.—LEVIELLUS MATING 389
Hence, (extreme) polygamy seems unlikely in the system
studied.
It is important to note that 60%of pairs failed to mate in
the staged experiments. We presume that those spiders had
mated before capture. If so, the females that received and
stored enough sperm might bias their energy investment in egg
production and fertilization, and hence might be sexually
unreceptive. It is also likely that females were only receptive
during molting and a short period thereafter (e.g., Alcock &
Buchmann 1985; Gaskett 2007). Mated or older spider females
can be aggressive and exhibit decreased receptivity to
subsequent courting males (Elgar 1998), e.g., Pholcus phalan-
gioides (Fuesslin 1775) (Scha¨fer & Uhl 2002), Argiope
keyserlingi Karsch 1878 (Herberstein et al. 2002) and
Tegenaria atrica C.L. Koch 1843 (Trabalon et al. 1997).
The alternative/additional explanation for the absence of
remating is that males do not find the mated females sexually
attractive, as is the case in Tegenaria atrica (Trabalon et al.
1997) and Agelenopsis aperta (Gertsch 1934) (Papke et al.
2001), both monogamous species that do not produce mating
plugs. Male spiders in general prefer virgin over mated
females, when females mate only once in several spiders;
e.g., Agelenopsis aperta (Riechert & Singer 1995). It may vary
among species whether a mated male or a female itself reduces
female attractiveness. One or more such mechanisms might
exist in L. thorelli, but this remains to be tested.
Based on our data, we cannot clarify why males did not
remate (with the used palp) with a newly introduced female.
Research on the closely related Zygiella x-notata indicates
male choosiness for mates (Bel-Venner et al. 2008; Venner
et al. 2010), where only 3%of guarding males switched to
another female (Bel-Venner & Venner 2006). Although
prolonged tandems during the reproductive season are known
to reduce sperm competition and to lower sexual harassment
of a mated female (Greenfield & Coffelt 1983; Scho¨fl &
Taborsky 2002), it would be worth studying if and what
mechanisms cause L. thorelli pairs to persist together in
nature, or even to remain monogamous after separation. A
phenomenon of prolonged tandems may relate to why no L.
thorelli males use both palps during mating. In the field and
laboratory, we observed that the male persists with the female
for a long period with recurrent courting phases. Hence, it is
possible that males use both palps with the same female, but
over a longer episode than the observed two-hour trial in the
laboratory.
Our results show no evidence for genital plugging, but we
recorded two cases of male L. thorelli becoming eunuchs by
severing their palps subsequent to mating. This resembles the
eunuch behavior of Herennia Thorell 1877 (Kuntner 2005;
Kuntner et al. 2009b), but not that of other nephilids where
males leave a palp in the female genital tract (Kuntner et al.
2009c; Kralj-Fisˇer et al. 2011; Li et al. 2012), nor that of
Tidarren Chamberlin & Ivie 1934 where the single-palped male
spontaneously dies while copulating and thus functions as a
whole-body mating plug (Knoflach & van Harten 2001).
Although the eunuch’s behavior in Leviellus is clearly not
obligate, it may nevertheless be suggestive of some level of
post-mating sterility in males.
In conclusion, L. thorelli sexual biology resembles that of
araneids with low SSD and not that of nephilids, which exhibit
pronounced SSD. Although our data require further corrob-
oration with lab-reared spiders, they suggest that the mating
system of L. thorelli spiders is shaped by a short period of
female sexual attractiveness and/or reduced receptivity after
mating and intensive mate guarding.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Eva and Irena Kuntner and Cene Fisˇer for
logistic help, Jutta Schneider for comments on the early
manuscript version, and Martin Marzidovsˇek for making
available the video on male antagonism. This work was
funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (grant J12063 to M.
Kuntner).
LITERATURE CITED
Alcock, J. & S.L. Buchmann. 1985. The significance of post-
insemination display by male Centris pallida (Hymenoptera,
Anthophoridae). Zeitschrift fu¨r Tierpsychologie—Journal of Com-
parative Ethology 68:231–243.
Andrade, M.C.B. 1996. Sexual selection for male sacrifice in the
Australian redback spider. Science 271:70–72.
Arnqvist, G. & L. Rowe. 2005. Sexual Conflict. Princeton University
Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Austad, S.N. 1984. Evolution of sperm priority patterns in spiders.
Pp. 223–251. In Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Animal
Mating Systems. (R.L. Smith, ed.). Academic Press, Orlando,
Florida.
Bel-Venner, M.C., S. Dray, D. Allaine, F. Menu & S. Venner. 2008.
Unexpected male choosiness for mates in a spider. Proceedings of
the Royal Society B—Biological Sciences 275:77–82.
Bel-Venner, M.C. & S. Venner. 2006. Mate-guarding strategies and
male competitive ability in an orb webspider: results from a field
study. Animal Behaviour 71:1315–1322.
Chapman, T., G. Arnqvist, J. Bangham & L. Rowe. 2003. Sexual
conflict. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 18:41–47.
Chapman, T., L.F. Liddle, J.M. Kalb, M.F. Wolfner & L. Partridge.
1995. Cost of mating in Drosophila melanogaster females is
mediated by male accessory gland products. Nature 373:241–244.
Downes, J.A. 1978. Feeding and mating in insectivorous Ceratopo-
goninae (Diptera). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of
Canada. Entomological Society of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Eberhard, W.G. 1997. Sexual selection by cryptic female choice in
insects and arachnids. Pp. 32–57. In The Evolution of Mating
Systems in Insects and Arachnids. (J.C. Choe & B.J. Crespi, eds.).
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Eberhard, W.G. 2004. Why study spider sex: Special traits of spiders
facilitate studies of sperm competition and cryptic female choice.
Journal of Arachnology 32:545–556.
Elgar, M.A. 1998. Sperm competition and sexual selection in spiders
and other arachnids. Pp. 307–339. In Sperm Competition and
Sexual Selection. (T.R. Birkhead & A.P. Mo¨ller, eds.). Academic
Press, San Diego, California.
Elgar, M.A. & D.R. Nash. 1988. Sexual cannibalism in the garden
spider Araneus diadematus. Animal Behaviour 36:1511–1517.
Elgar, M.A., J.M. Schneider & M.E. Herberstein. 2000. Female
control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope
keyserlingi. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B—
Biological Sciences 267:2439–2443.
Field, A. (ed.). 2005. Discovering statistics using SPSS. Second
edition. Sage Publications, London.
Foellmer, M.W. & D.J. Fairbairn. 2004. Males under attack: sexual
cannibalism and its consequences for male morphology and
behavior in an orb webspider. Evolutionary Ecology Research
6:163–181.
390 THE JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY
Fromhage, L., K. Jacobs & J.M. Schneider. 2007. Monogynous
mating behaviour and its ecological basis in the golden orb spider
Nephila fenestrata. Ethology 113:813–820.
Fromhage, L., J.M. McNamara & A.I. Houston. 2008. A model for
the evolutionary maintenance of monogyny in spiders. Journal of
Theoretical Biology 250:524–531.
Fromhage, L. & J.M. Schneider. 2005. Safer sex with feeding females:
sexual conflict in a cannibalistic spider. Behavioral Ecology
16:377–382.
Fromhage, L., G. Uhl & J.M. Schneider. 2003. Fitness consequences
of sexual cannibalism in female Argiope bruennichi. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 55:60–64.
Gaskett, A.C. 2007. Spider sex pheromones: emission, reception,
structures, and functions. Biological Reviews 82:27–48.
Greenfield, M.D. & J.A. Coffelt. 1983. Reproductive behaviour of the
lesser waxmoth, Achroia grisella (Pyralidae: Galleriinae): signal-
ling, pair formation, male interactions and mate guarding.
Behaviour 84:287–315.
Herberstein, M.E., J.M. Schneider & M.A. Elgar. 2002. Costs of
courtship and mating in a sexually cannibalistic orb-web spider:
female mating strategies and their consequences for males.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51:440–446.
Higgins, L. 2000. The interaction of season length and development
time alters size at maturity. Oecologia 122:51–59.
Knoflach, B. & A. van Harten. 2001. Tidarren argo sp. nov. (Araneae:
Theridiidae) and its exceptional copulatory behaviour: emascula-
tion, male palpal organ as a mating plug and sexual cannibalism.
Journal of Zoology 254:449–459.
Kralj-Fisˇer, S., M. Gregoric
ˇ, S. Zhang & M. Kuntner. 2011. Eunuchs
are better fighters. Animal Behaviour 81:933–939.
Kuntner, M. 2005. A revision of Herennia (Araneae: Nephilidae:
Nephilinae), the Australasian ‘coin spiders’. Invertebrate System-
atics 19:391–436.
Kuntner, M. 2006. Phylogenetic systematics of the Gondwanan
nephilid spider lineage Clitaetrinae (Araneae, Nephilidae). Zoolo-
gica Scripta 35:19–62.
Kuntner, M. 2007. A monograph of Nephilengys, the pantropical
‘hermit spiders’ (Araneae, Nephilidae, Nephilinae). Systematic
Entomology 32:95–135.
Kuntner, M. & J.A. Coddington. 2009. Discovery of the largest
orbweaving spider species: The evolution of gigantism in Nephila.
PLoS ONE 4(10):e7516.
Kuntner, M., J.A. Coddington & J.M. Schneider. 2009a. Intersexual
arms race? Genital coevolution in nephilid spiders (Araneae,
Nephilidae). Evolution 63:1451–1463.
Kuntner, M., S. Kralj-Fisˇer, J.M. Schneider & D. Li. 2009b. Mate
plugging via genital mutilation in nephilid spiders: an evolutionary
hypothesis. Journal of Zoology 277:257–266.
Kuntner, M., I. Agnarsson & M. Gregoric
ˇ. 2009c. Nephilid spider
eunuch phenomenon induced by female or rival male aggressive-
ness. Journal of Arachnology 37:266–271.
Li, D., J. Oh, S. Kralj-Fisˇer & M. Kuntner. 2012. Remote copulation:
male adaptation to female cannibalism. Biology Letters 8:512–515.
Michalik, P., B. Knoflach, K. Thaler & G. Alberti. 2010. Live for the
moment—Adaptations in the male genital system of a sexually
cannibalistic spider (Theridiidae, Araneae). Tissue & Cell 42:32–36.
Nessler, S., G. Uhl & J.M. Schneider. 2009. Sexual cannibalism
facilitates genital damage in Argiope lobata (Araneae: Araneidae).
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63:355–362.
Papke, M.D., S.E. Riechert & S. Schulz. 2001. An airborne female
pheromone associated with male attraction and courtship in a
desert spider. Animal Behaviour 61:877–886.
Parker, G.A. 1984. Sperm competition and the evolution of animal
mating strategies. Pp. 1–60. In Sperm Competition and the
Evolution of Animal Mating Systems. (R.L. Smith, ed.). Academic
Press, Orlando, Florida.
Riechert, S.E. 1974. Pattern of local web distribution in a desert
spider—mechanisms and seasonal variation. Journal of Animal
Ecology 43:733–746.
Riechert, S.E. 1981. The consequences of being territorial spiders, a
case study. American Naturalist 117:871–892.
Riechert, S.E. & F.D. Singer. 1995. Investigation of potential male
mate choice in a monogamous spider. Animal Behaviour
49:715–723.
Robinson, M.H. 1982. Courtship and mating behavior in spiders.
Annual Review of Entomology 27:1–20.
Scha¨fer, M.A. & G. Uhl. 2002. Determinants of paternity success in
the spider Pholcus phalangioides (Pholcidae: Araneae): the role of
male and female mating behaviour. Behavioral Ecology and
Sociobiology 51:368–377.
Schofl, G. & M. Taborsky. 2002. Prolonged tandem formation in
firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) serves mate guarding. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology 54:426–433.
Schneider, J.M., L. Fromhage & G. Uhl. 2005. Copulation patterns in
the golden orb-web spider Nephila madagascariensis. Journal of
Ethology 23:51–55.
Schneider, J.M., M.E. Herberstein, M.J. Bruce, M.M. Kasumovic,
M.L. Thomas & M.A. Elgar. 2008. Male copulation frequency,
sperm competition and genital damage in the golden orb-web
spider (Nephila plumipes). Australian Journal of Zoology
56:233–238.
Schneider, J.M., M.E. Herberstein, F.C. De Crespigny, S. Ramamurthy
& M.A. Elgar. 2000. Sperm competition and small size advantage for
males of the golden orb-web spider Nephila edulis. Journal of
Evolutionary Biology 13:939–946.
Trabalon, M., A.G. Bagne`res & C. Roland. 1997. Contact sex signals
in two sympatric spider species, Tegenaria domestica and Tegenaria
pagana. Journal of Chemical Ecology 23:747–758.
Uhl, G. 2000. Female genital morphology and sperm priority patterns
in spiders (Araneae). Pp. 145–156. In European Arachnology 2000.
(S. Toft & N. Scharff, eds.). Aarhus University Press, Aarhus.
Uhl, G., S. Nessler & J. Schneider. 2010. Securing paternity in
spiders? A review on occurrence and effects of mating plugs and
male genital mutilation. Genetica 138:75–104.
Venner, S., C. Bernstein, M. Dray & M.C. Bel-Venner. 2010. Make
love not war: When should less competitive males choose low
quality but defendable females? American Naturalist 175:650–661.
Watson, P.J. 1991. Multiple paternity and first mate sperm
precedence in the Sierra Dome spider, Linyphia litigiosa Keyserling
(Linyphiidae). Animal Behaviour 41:135–148.
Zhang, S., M. Kuntner & D. Li. 2011. Mate binding: male adaptation
to sexual conflict in the golden orb-web spider (Nephilidae: Nephila
pilipes). Animal Behaviour 82:1299–1304.
Zimmer, S.M., K.W. Welke & J.M. Schneider. 2012. Determinants of
natural mating success in the cannibalistic orb-web spider Argiope
bruennichi. PLoS One 7:e31389.
Manuscript received 4 February 2013, revised 19 August 2013.
KRALJ-FIS
ˇER ET AL.—LEVIELLUS MATING 391
... The emergence of the term Zygiellinae is relatively new, as Zygiella [and its relatives as described by Wunderlich (2004)] was classically understood as deep within araneids (Scharff & Coddington, 1997), whereas Phonognatha and Deliochus were believed to be closely related to Nephila from their initial description until about a century later (Simon, 1894;Hormiga, Eberhard & Coddington, 1995). Zygiellinae, now broadly accepted as basally diverging in the araneid tree, includes taxa that have been the subject of work ranging from studies on web architecture and silk use (Hormiga et al., 1995;Venner, Pasquet & Leborgne, 2000;Gheysens et al., 2005;Townley et al., 2012;Gregorič et al., 2015;Mortimer et al., 2015) to behaviour (Leborgne & Pasquet, 1987;Spiller, 1992;Kralj-Fišer et al., 2013) to development (Chaw, Vance & Black, 2007). ...
Article
We revise and monograph the Australasian clade of the araneid subfamily Zygiellinae F.O. Pickard-Cambridge. Several members of this clade construct conspicuous leaf retreats at the hub of their webs. We gathered and analyzed a matrix of 95 taxa of zygiellines and close relatives with sequence data from six genetic markers (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, cytochrome oxidase c subunit I, and histone H3), in addition to 235 morphological and behavioral characters. Analyses conducted using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods indicate that Phonognatha Simon is paraphyletic as currently circumscribed, which we accommodate by erecting the genus Artifex gen. nov. Our analyses support Zygiellinae as the earliest diverging araneid subfamily. Biogeographic analyses using BioGeoBEARS support multiple colonizations of zygiellines to New Caledonia from Australia, congruent with the island’s geology. Furthermore, analysis of the retreat types show using leaf retreats integrated with the hub to have arisen at least three times independently. We describe one new species, Phonognatha tanyodon sp. nov., redescribe three species of Phonognatha, three species of Deliochus Simon, and two species of Artifex gen. nov. Three species of Araneus Clerck and Phonognatha are synonymized with these taxa, and four species are misplaced in Zygiellinae.
... The 21 st century began with some higher level systematics and taxonomic works that used Slovenia's exemplars (Agnarson 2004;Arnedo et al. 2004Arnedo et al. , 2009Gregorič 2008;Kuntner et al. 2008;Řezáč et al. 2008a, b;Van Helsdingen et al. 2001;Wang et al. 2010), but mostly continued to document the fauna through faunistic contributions (Buchar and Dolansky 2011;Buchar and Thaler 2002;Čandek et al. 2013, 2015Decae 2010;Fišer and Kostanjšek 2001;Franc 2004;Gorjan and Fišer 2010;Gregorič and Kuntner 2009;Kostanjšek , 2002aKostanjšek , b, 2003Kostanjšek , 2004aKostanjšek , b, 2005Kostanjšek , 2007Kostanjšek , 2011Kostanjšek , 2013Kostanjšek , 2014Kostanjšek and Celestina 2008;Kostanjšek and Fišer 2005;Kostanjšek and Gorjan 2013;Kostanjšek and Kuntner 2002;Kostanjšek and Miller 2004;Kostanjšek and Ramšak 2005;Kuntner 2001;Kuntner and Kostanjšek 2000;Kuntner et al. 2007;Neuhauser et al. 1995;Pipan et al. 2008;Polak et al. 2012), ecological and behavioral studies (Kralj-Fišer et al. 2013;Nentwig and M. 2010;Novak 2005b;Novak et al. 2004Novak et al. , 2010Tkavc 2008) and zoogeographical reviews (Blick et al. 2004;Decae 2010;Deltshev 2005;Finch et al. 2008;Knapič 2012;Kuntner and Šereg 2002;Le Peru 2011, Řezáč et al. 2014. ...
Article
Full-text available
Citation: Kostanjšek R, Kuntner M (2015) Araneae Sloveniae: a national spider species checklist. ZooKeys 474: 1–91. Abstract The research of the spider fauna of Slovenia dates back to the very beginning of binomial nomenclature, and has gone through more and less prolific phases with authors concentrating on taxonomy, faunistics, ecology and zoogeographic reviews. Although the body of published works is remarkable for a small na-tion, the faunistic data has remained too scattered for a thorough understanding of regional biotic diver-sity, for comparative and ecological research, and for informed conservation purposes. A national checklist is long overdue. Here, a critical review of all published records in any language is provided. The species list currently comprises 738 species, is published online at http://www.bioportal.si/katalog/araneae.php un-der the title Araneae Sloveniae, and will be updated in due course. This tool will fill the void in cataloguing regional spider faunas and will facilitate further araneological research in central and southern Europe.
... These differences are in accordance with other moderately sexually sized dimorphic spiders with protandric mating system (e.g. Kralj-Fišer et al. 2013). Food availability affected developmental times in both sexes. ...
Article
Full-text available
Urbanization poses serious extinction risks, yet some species thrive in urban environments. This may be due to a pronounced developmental plasticity in these taxa, since phenotypically, plastic organisms may better adjust to unpredictable urban food resources. We studied phenotypic plasticity in Nuctenea umbratica, a common European forest and urban vegetation spider. We subjected spiderlings to low (LF), medium (MF) and high (HF) food treatments and documented their growth and developmental trajectories into adulthood. Spiders from the three treatments had comparable numbers of instars and growth ratios, but differed in developmental periods. Longest developing LF spiders (♀ = 390, ♂ = 320 days) had the smallest adults, but MF (♀ = 300, ♂ = 240 days) and HF (♀ = 240, ♂ = 210 days) spiders reached comparable adult sizes through shorter development. While males and females had comparable instar numbers, females had longer development, higher growth ratios, adult sizes and mass; and while males adjusted their moulting to food availability, female moulting depended on specific mass, not food treatment. We discussed the patterns of Nuctenea sex-specific development and compared our results with published data on two other Holarctic urban colonizers (Larinioides sclopetarius, Zygiella x-notata) exhibiting high plasticity and fast generation turn-over. We conclude that despite relatively unconstrained developmental time in the laboratory enabling Nuctenea to achieve maximal mass and size-main female fitness proxies-their relatively fixed growth ratio and long generation turn-over may explain their lower success in urban environments.
Article
Spiders are well known for using chemical, vibratory, tactile, and visual signals within mating contexts. All spiders produce silk, and even in non-web building spiders, silk is intimately tied to courtship and mating. Silk produced by females provides a transmission channel for male vibratory courtship signals, while webs and draglines provide a substrate for female sex pheromones. Observations of male spiders producing silk during sexual interactions are also common across phylogenetically widespread taxa. However, the function of male-produced silk in mating has received very little study. Exploring the function of male silk use during mating will provide a deeper understanding of the complex mating systems of spiders and allow tests of hypotheses about the evolution of male and female traits under sexual selection and/or conflict. In this review, we outline functional hypotheses that may explain each of the following three main categories of silk deposition males exhibit during courtship and mating: (1) silk deposition on females' webs or other silk structures, (2) silk deposition on females ('bridal veils') and (3) silk associated with nuptial gifts. We then summarize the current knowledge of silk use by male spiders within these three categories and the types of mechanisms that may lead to functional effects, and discuss areas where future work can be targeted. © 2018 American Museum of Natural History. All rights reserved.
Article
Full-text available
Under natural and sexual selection traits often evolve that secure paternity or maternity through self-sacrifice to predators, rivals, offspring, or partners. Emasculation—males removing their genitals—is an unusual example of such behaviours. Known only in insects and spiders, the phenomenon's adaptiveness is difficult to explain, yet its repeated origins and association with sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual cannibalism suggest an adaptive significance. In spiders, emasculation of paired male sperm-transferring organs — secondary genitals — (hereafter, palps), results in ‘eunuchs’. This behaviour has been hypothesized to be adaptive because (i) males plug female genitals with their severed palps (plugging hypothesis), (ii) males remove their palps to become better fighters in male–male contests (better-fighter hypothesis), perhaps reaching higher agility due to reduced total body mass (gloves-off hypothesis), and (iii) males achieve prolonged sperm transfer through severed genitals (remote-copulation hypothesis). Prior research has provided evidence in support of these hypotheses in some orb-weaving spiders but these explanations are far from general. Seeking broad macroevolutionary patterns of spider emasculation, we review the known occurrences, weigh the evidence in support of the hypotheses in each known case, and redefine more precisely the particular cases of emasculation depending on its timing in relation to maturation and mating: ‘pre-maturation’, ‘mating’, and ‘post-mating’. We use a genus-level spider phylogeny to explore emasculation evolution and to investigate potential evolutionary linkage between emasculation, SSD, lesser genital damage (embolic breakage), and sexual cannibalism (females consuming their mates). We find a complex pattern of spider emasculation evolution, all cases confined to Araneoidea: emasculation evolved at least five and up to 11 times, was lost at least four times, and became further modified at least once. We also find emasculation, as well as lesser genital damage and sexual cannibalism, to be significantly associated with SSD. These behavioural and morphological traits thus likely co-evolve in spiders. Emasculation can be seen as an extreme form of genital mutilation, or even a terminal investment strategy linked to the evolution of monogyny. However, as different emasculation cases in araneoid spiders are neither homologous nor biologically identical, and may or may not serve as paternity protection, the direct link to monogyny is not clear cut. Understanding better the phylogenetic patterns of emasculation and its constituent morphologies and behaviours, a clearer picture of the intricate interplay of natural and sexual selection may arise. With the here improved evolutionary resolution of spider eunuch behaviour, we can more specifically tie the evidence from adaptive hypotheses to independent cases, and propose promising avenues for further research of spider eunuchs, and of the evolution of monogyny.
Article
Full-text available
Monogyny in spiders culminates in extreme traits, like dramatic male self-sacrifice and emasculation of the male by the female during copulation. Here we show that monogynous males can be highly adapted for this fatal sexual behaviour. Dwarf males of the one-palped theridiid spider Tidarren argo, which are cannibalised immediately after the insertion of their single copulatory organ, stop spermiogenesis when reaching adulthood. Their testes atrophy, which might economise the energy expenditures of these males. We also found that the amount of seminal fluid produced is stored in an enlarged seminal vesicle until the single sperm induction takes place. The volume of the seminal vesicle is similar to the sperm droplet taken up into the copulatory organ (palpal organ). Sperm uptake takes much longer than in related species most likely due to the large amount of seminal fluid. As shown by histological observations males are able to fill one of the paired female sperm storage organs during copulation thereby presumably impeding subsequent charging by rival males.
Article
Full-text available
Copulation inmany sexually cannibalistic spiders is associated with a loss of function of the male reproductive organs and, as a consequence, males that survive sexual cannibalism may nevertheless be unable to subsequently copulate successfully.SexualcannibalismiscommonintheAustraliangoldenorb-webspider(Nephilaplumipes),inwhichthetipof the conductor typically breaks during copulation. Thus, male mating frequency may be physiologically limited to two females, irrespective of the male's ability to avoid cannibalism or the opportunity to locate and court additional, receptive females.Laboratoryexperimentsrevealedthatthelikelihoodoftheconductorbreakingdependsuponthecopulatoryhistory of the female insemination duct: males were more likely to break their conductor if they inseminated a 'virgin' rather than 'mated' insemination duct. However, the choice of insemination duct did not influence the duration of copulation or quantity of sperm transferred. In field populations, the proportion of males with both conductors broken increased during the course of the mating season, but while males with broken conductors did not copulate successfully with virgin females, they were nevertheless observed on the webs of immature females. We suggest that male N. plumipes with broken conductors on the webs of females are most likely mate guarding, as this appears to be the most effective mechanism of securing paternity.
Article
Full-text available
The nephilid 'coin spiders' (Herennia Thorell) are known for their arboricolous ladder webs, extreme sexual size dimorphism and peculiar sexual biology. This paper revises Herennia taxonomy, systematics, biology and biogeography. The widespread Asian Herennia multipuncta (Doleschall) (= H. sampitana Karsch, new synonymy; = H. mollis Thorell, new synonymy) is synanthropic and invasive, whereas the other 10 species are narrowly distributed Australasian island endemics: H. agnarssoni, sp. nov. is known from Solomon Islands; H. deelemanae, sp. nov. from northern Borneo; H. etruscilla, sp. nov. from Java; H. gagamba, sp. nov. from the Philippines; H. jernej, sp. nov. from Sumatra; H. milleri, sp. nov. from New Britain; H. oz, sp. nov. from Australia; H. papuana Thorell from New Guinea; H. sonja, sp. nov. from Kalimantan and Sulawesi; and H. tone, sp. nov. from the Philippines. A phylogenetic analysis of seven species of Herennia, six nephilid species and 15 outgroup taxa scored for 190 morphological and behavioural characters resulted in 10 equally parsimonious trees supporting the monophyly of Nephilidae, Herennia, Nephila, Nephilengys and Clitaetra, but the sister-clade to the nephilids is ambiguous. Coin spiders do not fit well established biogeographic lines (Wallace, Huxley) dividing Asian and Australian biotas, but the newly drawn 'Herennia line' suggests an all-Australasian speciation in Herennia. To explain the peculiar male sexual behaviour (palpal mutilation and severance) known in Herennia and Nephilengys, three specific hypotheses based on morphological and behavioural data are proposed: (1) broken embolic conductors function as mating plugs; (2) bulb severance following mutilation is advantageous for the male to avoid hemolymph leakage; and (3) the eunuch protects his parental investment by fighting off rival males.
Article
Insects and arachnids display the most impressive diversity of mating and social behaviour among all animals. This book investigates sexual competition in these groups, and the variety of ways in which males and females pursue, persuade, manipulate, control and help one another, enabling us to gain a better understanding of how conflicts and confluences of interest evolve together. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of mating systems in particular insect and arachnid groups, discusses intrinsic and extrinsic factors responsible for observed mating strategies, and suggests fruitful avenues for further research. The book culminates in a synthesis, reviewing the date in terms of the theory of sexual conflict. This broad-based book will be of immense value to students and researchers interested in reproductive strategies, behavioural ecology, entomology and arachnology.
Article
I argue that several unusual aspects of spider sexual biology make them extremely promising subjects for future research on sperm competition and cryptic female choice, and outline promising lines for future research. The important traits include: double, bilaterally symmetrical genitalia (allowing the use of the same animal as experimental and control and thus providing unusually complete controls for experimental manipulations); isolation of male ejaculates in pure form during sperm induction (allowing experimental determination of the effects of sperm and male accessory glands on female reproductive physiology, and separation of their effects on the female from those of copulatory courtship and copulation); frequent venter-up orientation and genitalic meshes in which most of the male genitalia is outside rather than inside the female (allowing unusually complete observations of male genital behavior during copulation); immobile sperm (allowing confident deductions about male and female movement of sperm without complications from motility of the sperm themselves); a huge data set on female as well as male genitalic morphology from previous taxonomic studies (enabling, in combination with studies of the fit between male and female genitalia, studies of the details of how rapid genitalic divergence occurs). Studies of spider sex should be in the forefront of the next generation of studies of sperm competition and cryptic female choice.
Chapter
The chapter focuses on Polyandry, which sets the stage for sperm competition, and may provide female spiders with both material and genetic benefits. The material benefits include a reduction in the costs of male harassment and, perhaps, an increase in fecundity through the provision of nuptial gifts, including the body of the male. The genetic benefits, which are modified by the patterns of sperm precedence, are less apparent in females among species with a predominantly first-male sperm priority. However, for male spiders, most of the opportunities for securing paternity appear to be related to the timing of mating, physically guarding females from rival males and blocking the genital region of the female with a plug, or increasing the duration of copulation. Moreover, the latter reduces female receptivity and increases fertilization success in competition with other males, although the mechanisms remain unknown. Therefore, the studies of sperm competition also benefit by examining precedence patterns involving more than two males. The clear sexual dimorphism and often elaborate courtship behavior of many cursorial spiders provide a rich seam of model systems to investigate the evolutionary significance of both overt and cryptic female choice.
Article
(1) Block-size analysis of variance was applied to the distribution of the funnel web-building spider Agelenopsis aperta (Gertsch) (Araneae: Agelenidae) in different seasons in a lava bed area in south-central New Mexico. (2) A regular spacing of webs noted for adult spiders is absent in immature individuals. The size of area maintained by older spiders is dependent on maturity and size of the individuals. This regularity in the distribution of webs is attributed to a social mechanism. The mean spacing of individuals is believed to function to ensure a food base of available prey. (3) Peaks in pattern at larger quadrat sizes correspond to reproductive and vectorial deterministic mechanisms. Immature and subadult spiders demonstrate peaks corresponding to the size of aggregation resulting from incomplete dispersal from the egg sac (reproductive pattern). Peaks at larger block sizes for adult spiders correspond to associations of webs with the clustering of protective features in the habitats, i.e. shrubs on the lava bed and depressions on the grassland. Spiders occupying the study areas in seasons other than the hot, dry period occurring in early summer, demonstrate less specificity in location of their webs.