How Do Spiders Reproduce Asexually?
WouterSpiders are known for their bizarre sex rituals. During mating, males display various behaviors that include tapping on a web, rocking their bodies, and pulling their legs.
A male’s main objective is to impregnate a female. To do this, he uses a special organ that acts like a copulatory gland. In addition, he ejects sperm into the genital organs of the female.
After the transfer of sperm, the male spider makes a hasty retreat from the female. His sperm is deposited into a pouch called a spermatheca.
The female uses the sperm to fertilize the eggs. The female also stores the sperm in receptacles near her ovaries. The spermatheca is made of silk. The silk comes from spinnerets at the end of the abdomen.
In some species, the sperm is deposited in the epigyne. Other species, such as the Harpactea Sadistica, pierce the female’s body with fangs and inject the sperm directly inside. This method is the first example of traumatic insertion.
Female redback spiders have two spermathecae. During a mating, one embolus can enter the spermatheca from each side. In addition to storing sperm, the spermatheca also allows the female to control which males can mate with her.
Male jumping spiders also have a copulatory organ. In the case of the Nephilengys malabarensis, the male’s sperm is deposited into the epigyne, but the copulatory organ remains in the female after the mating.
Sexual reproduction in spiders dates back to the prokaryotes. Although many plants and animals today reproduce asexually, sexual reproduction has been refined by the evolution of the first eukaryotes.
