Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

This was a rather extraordinary morning. I returned from yesterday to see if I could get a better shot of the reflections on the Argyrodes abdomen. To my surprise, one of the Argyrodes flavescens was not that at all but a male Nephila pilipes and just about to start the mating game. Although most of the preparation had taken place - weaving a mat of silk on the dorsal side of her abdomen, he wasted no time in approaching her, doing some preliminary stuff and then inserting his embolus conductors into her epigynum.

Here comes the male from the north west corner of the web

Closer - and for this series, he did not do the usual tap her leg and ask permission

The mating act appeared to consist of moving he cephalothorax up and down with his embolus conductors in their armed configuration (perpendicular to his abdomen)

Here I believe he is inserting one into her epigynum while the other is in the retracted (parallel to his abdomen) configuration

Here - seems to be just thinking about whatever

Preparing to insert the embolus conductor into her epigynum

Another view

Raising the pedipalp before inserting it

Thrusting the embolus injector down

I think this illustrates the conductor inserted into her epigynum

Withdrawn

Preparing for another insertion

Closer view

You can clearly see that his right pedipalp and embolus conductor is being actively used while the left one is in the unarmed or rest configuration

From the side

Both embolus injectors retracted

Here he is weaving a carpet of silk on her dorsal side

Both embolus conductors in the retracted position

Here his right conductor is in what I call the armed configuration

Meanwhile, in the southeast corner of the web was an Argyrodes flavescens busy stealing prey from her web

Doing a high wire act

Wrapping her dinner

Meanwhile, back in the northwest corner - embolus conductors withdrawn and in their retracted configuration

Then he decides to back off a bit and weave some more of his love carpet

Then back to the job at hand

Male maybe injecting sperm

Another view

While the Argyrodes are taking advantage of her preoccupation with mating

Wrapping dinner

Then close by - a metallic fly collides with the Nephila web and the collision was noticed by the Argyrodes

She raced to the fly

And started wrapping it for dinner

End of story - but what a day

C. Frank Starmer

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