This is one of the black widow females I just moved into roomier quarters.
It does not have a red back. Our North American widows are a solid black, with a red hourglass on the underside of the abdomen.
This is one of the males, currently separated.
Seriously dimorphic, which is why he won’t be introduced until the female is fed again, and I can keep on eye on her shenanigans.
Is this what a very well-fed female looks like?
Or is that how chubby they look like all the time?
Or while pregnant/gravid?
Or is that a tic?
Shenanigans, cannibalism. Let’s call the whole thing off.
Snideley, that’s what I thought.
Also is the male pictured from the underside? Seems like a pale hourglass which would be on the underside like the female.
I only saw the first photo and spent time looking for the groom. “Where’s Waldo”.
She’s having him over for dinner.
To Serve
ManMale SpidersThere are many spiders that display such a large difference in size, which is known as sexual dimorphism. This is the typical Black Widow shape, but I’m more impressed with how shiny they are.
I seem to remember reading that the offspring tend to be healthier when Dad serves as dessert, but maybe that was a theory? Praying Mantids and some Octopi also have the same mating strategies, so it’s obviously a net benefit in some species for the female to mate and then eliminate her mate from competing for food resources.
She looks like a Whopper malted milk ball with legs. Delicious!
In human courtship rituals dinner often precedes mating. In spider courtship the order of those is often reversed with mating preceeding dinner.
I can see PZ’s face reflected in the shine on that plump female’s abdomen. He must be feeding them well to be so glossy and apparently well-stuffed.