Silk release by copulating **Schizocosa malitiosa** males (Araneae, Lycosidae)

Ondertitel:a bridal veil?

We report release of silk threads by males of Schizocosa malitiosa (Tullgren 1905) during copulation. The silk is deposited over the female's front legs and near her mouthparts. Possible functions for this behavior could be inhibiting female aggressiveness through chemicals deposited on the silk, inducing female catalepsy during copulation or repelling other males. We propose future studies manipulating male silk release to test these hypotheses.

Jaar van publicatie:2008

Trefwoorden:A1 Journal article

Toegankelijkheid:Closed