Spanish researchers have found evidence that the combination of behavior and gravity may determine the itty-bitty body size of some orb weaver males. The males use “bridging”, or crawling along a single strand of silk to another location, to get around, a behavior that appears to favor smaller size. Females, however, are larger because this gives them a reproductive advantage: producing more eggs. This has led to what is called extreme sexual dimorphism, or large differences in size between males and females.
Source: BBC News – Spider size is a question of gravity.
Filed under: Biology, Insect research news
Discoveries of an entomology student with a perhaps unreasonable appreciation for arthropods.
