Sexual competition in a inbreeding social spider, Stegodyphus dumicola (Araneae: Eresidae)

Sexual competition is shown to occur in the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola (Eresidae). While the secondary sex ratio in S. dumicola was female-biased, the overall operational sex ratio (numbers of breeding males to breeding females over the season) showed no strong female bias. Males matured bef...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insectes sociaux 1995-01, Vol.42 (4), p.419-426
Main Authors: HENSCHEL, J. R, LUBIN, Y. D, SCHNEIDER, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Araneae
Biological and medical sciences
Eresidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
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Summary:Sexual competition is shown to occur in the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola (Eresidae). While the secondary sex ratio in S. dumicola was female-biased, the overall operational sex ratio (numbers of breeding males to breeding females over the season) showed no strong female bias. Males matured before females and had a shorter lifespan than the females. Mating took place in the natal colony. Males fought over access to the few mature females available early in the reproductive season, but females appeared to control the duration of mating. Later in the season, some adults of both sexes dispersed alone to breed elsewhere. We conclude that different rates of maturation between the sexes within a colony provide the opportunity for females that mature early in the season to be choosy in selecting a mate and this forces males to compete. Early reproduction may be beneficial for both females and males, because the offspring of females that reproduce early may have a competitive advantage over later (and smaller) offspring in the colony.
ISSN:0020-1812
1420-9098
DOI:10.1007/BF01242170