Tragic but Strategic, Can We Consider It Romantic?

ILMA ZUHA ZARO (30802300003)

Have you ever heard of cannibalism? Of course you have. What comes to mind when you hear the word cannibalism? Something terrible or disgusting? Literally, cannibalism can be defined as the behavior of an individual eating a member of its own species. This is certainly terrible when discussed in the context of humans. However, in the animal world, some things are even more terrible. Imagine, after mating, to pass on their genes, the males of one species of spider willingly allow themselves to be eaten by the females. This behavior is called sexual cannibalism, which occurs in Latrodectus spp., often referred to as black widow spiders.

These spiders are nicknamed black widows because of the behavior of the females, who often eat the males after they mate. If they are not careful in their approach, the males are at risk of being eaten by the females before they have a chance to copulate. Therefore, males usually have to perform a “special dance” to let the female know that he is not prey. This is also because males are much smaller than females, with females usually measuring 1.5 cm and males only 2-3 mm, so these tiny males are indeed very vulnerable once they enter the female's territory.

However, although it sounds terrible, the sacrifice of these males actually has its own purpose. So it is not just a futile sacrifice or simply to satisfy the females. According to researchers at the Smithsonian Institution, this behavior actually has a biological reason: by eating the males, the females obtain additional nutrients to support egg production. In addition, males who are “willing to be eaten” actually have a greater chance of ensuring that their genes are passed on, because the fertilization process takes longer when the female eats them. For these reasons, some males perform a copulatory somersault, which involves deliberately flipping their bodies toward the female's mouth after inserting their reproductive organs, essentially offering themselves to be eaten to prolong mating and increase the chances of fertilization.

From this, we can see that although sexual cannibalism still sounds terrifying, in black widow spiders, it is actually a reproductive process carried out for the survival of their species. What we consider terrifying is actually a unique feature of this species, and it is what earned them the nickname “black widow.”