Let's imagine you're a little male spider. One day you may feel a little - let's say: romantic. So you begin to look for a female. But when you find one you get a little scared. She is bigger than you, so what if she assumes that you are an enemy or worse - a snack? So you hesitate, torn between fear and desire, twitching forward and back just at the edge of her field of view.
And she just watches. Her instincts don't label you as a rival and you're not behaving like food either. So the two of you mate successfully, while many of the non-twitchers got eaten or chased away.
Fast forward a few hundred or thousand generations - which are the same number of years for little spiders. Now all male spiders twitch, as they out bred the non-twitchers, and the females have learned that a twitching object is a mate.
But not all twitchers are the same! Some are more colorful and some move more elegantly. And both catch the female's eyes more easily. So now these will out breed the regular twitchers.
Fast forward another few thousand or million generations and the little shy spiders have become beautiful dancers! Some of them may get eaten by birds, as they are easier to spot. And that is why they may not get more flamboyant but overall the success with the ladies outweighs the risk by far!
Now you may think that this story is absurd. It might work for big, complex animals like birds, but spiders? And you are partially right, as most spiders have bad sight. However, jumping spiders don't. It pays off to have good eyes when you jump at your prey! And actually, among these tiny creatures there are some great dancers!
You still have doubts? Well, have a look at the mating dance of Saitis barbipes - a little Mediterranean spider that makes at least a great "twitcher".
And when that does not impress you properly, take a look of the Australian peacock spiders of the genus Maratus, some of which actually make peacocks look clumsy and bland, like this one or this, where the female also dances, or actually anything from this YouTube channel!
So the next time you are on the dance floor or admire a dancer, remember: There are little spiders in Australia, that might do it much better!
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| Trying to look cute - for a spider... |
Fast forward a few hundred or thousand generations - which are the same number of years for little spiders. Now all male spiders twitch, as they out bred the non-twitchers, and the females have learned that a twitching object is a mate.
But not all twitchers are the same! Some are more colorful and some move more elegantly. And both catch the female's eyes more easily. So now these will out breed the regular twitchers.
Fast forward another few thousand or million generations and the little shy spiders have become beautiful dancers! Some of them may get eaten by birds, as they are easier to spot. And that is why they may not get more flamboyant but overall the success with the ladies outweighs the risk by far!
Now you may think that this story is absurd. It might work for big, complex animals like birds, but spiders? And you are partially right, as most spiders have bad sight. However, jumping spiders don't. It pays off to have good eyes when you jump at your prey! And actually, among these tiny creatures there are some great dancers!
You still have doubts? Well, have a look at the mating dance of Saitis barbipes - a little Mediterranean spider that makes at least a great "twitcher".
And when that does not impress you properly, take a look of the Australian peacock spiders of the genus Maratus, some of which actually make peacocks look clumsy and bland, like this one or this, where the female also dances, or actually anything from this YouTube channel!
So the next time you are on the dance floor or admire a dancer, remember: There are little spiders in Australia, that might do it much better!
Love it!
ReplyDeletekeep them coming!
Jenna
Thanks - I will!
ReplyDelete