There’s more than size, when opposite attracts

Author Koh Lin ◦

Size is not the only difference between the male and female Australian Golden Orb Weaver Spider… they actually look different. This is known as “sexual dimorphism”.

As you can see here, in the world of Golden-Orb Weavers, the male of the species is much smaller. When you look at how big the female Golden Orb Weaver can get, the size difference between the female and male is even more striking.

Often the male may be some distance away from the female… playing a waiting game and hoping that there are no other male contenders.

The male of course has to be on the ball, or he could become dinner — either before or after sex, although it is thought to be rare that the male Golden Orb Spider ends up being dinner.

He picks his moment and starts the approach… well there is no right way or wrong way… but approaching her from behind sounds like a good option…

The “sexual encounter” is a skilled manoeuvre… with a lot of applied caution. The male will most likely hope that the female has eaten and maybe feel a little laid back. He may pluck a radial line along the web… not quite strumming a song… but if the female is receptive, the male will make a move to the ventral abdomen side of the female.

In the following photo you can see the male slowly making his way down the food pantry line of the female.

It looks like a long walk… but patience is the key… and slow and steady is the way…

Now if the female is “in the mood” — receptive — the male will attempt to get to the right position for mating… which is on the female’s ventral abdomen and facing forwards. However, If the female reacts aggressively to his approach, instincts kicks in and the male will become motionless. This freeze frame can last for 10 to 15 minutes. After the appropriate amount of time, he will slowly continue his approach.

Now there is no telling sometimes how a female will react, so if she remains aggressive when he resumes his approach, he will move away from the female, to live another day.

Whilst it is not common for “sexual cannibalism” in the orb-weaving spiders group, it can occur. To reduce the likelihood of such behaviour, the male has a number of choices… mate with a newly moulted adult female (as they are inactive for a little while, as changing your outer skin does take a bit of energy). The male can also try mating when the female is feeding or even change tactics by coming to her from another side of the web.

Indeed, when you look at how big the female Golden-Orb Weaver is, and under certain lights, she can look really ferocious. Amazingly, if she can survive being prey to spider wasps and birds among other predators, during the good times when there is plenty of food around, the female Golden-Orb Weaver can grow really large — which explains why they were tasty morsels for some indigenous people through Oceania and the southern Asia region.

But if all goes to plan, this blog of the Australian Golden Orb Weaver “sexcapade”, the dictionary definition being — a sexual experience that involves some risk or excitement — has reached its climax.

Unfortunately, we are a “G” rated site… and I really couldn’t see what was happening in that tangled web… but here are some photos of the perfect place to be if you are a male Australian Golden Orb Weaver wanting… you know what 🙂

If you want to read some serious and not so serious stuff about this species of spider, check out the following:

Footnote & References

The spider that weaves gold, Jessica Scholle (based on article published by Mark Harvey, Head of Department Arachnids and Myriapods at the Western Australian Museum, https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/articles/spider-weaves-gold
Golden Orb Weaving Spiders, Austalian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/golden-orb-weaving-spiders/