FEMALE WOLF SPIDERS: WHAT ATTRACTS THEM TO COURTING MALES?

Wolf spider
Wolf spider
Female spiders are attracted by the hairy front leg of courting males.

Male wolf spiders wave their hairy legs at the female, as courtship gesture to excite the female spider. In one experiment—reported in the book Songs, Roars and Rituals: Communication in Birds, Mammals, and Other Animals—when researchers played back a recorded video of a male waving its hairy front legs, the female paid attention; but when researchers digitally removed the hair on the legs, the female spider was no longer  interested.

N24_wolf spider_3
N24_wolf spider_4

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