Photograph by Zach Holmes, Alamy
At least, that is the tactic that seems to work best for male golden orb-weaver spiders (Nephila pilipes). Researchers have now shown that these spiders will actually rub their partner's back to help calm her down and avoid being eaten after mating. Who doesn't like a good massage? You can watch a video of this process and read more here.
More like this
tags: spider, tarantula, chicken-eating spider
Have you been getting bitten by a lot of spiders lately? Are you concerned about Brown Recluse Spiders?
Well, I know people don't like to hear this, but those spider bites you woke up with this morning were probably not spider bites. Spiders don't really bite people.
Check out this "sculpure" of a spider discovered by Biologist Phil Torres, created by what may be a new species of Cyclosa found in the Peruvian Amazon.
A loose spider on a space station.