Daft male spiders prefer females who are more likely to eat them

Credit: Kim Moore

A male and female brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus)

Female brown widow spiders get grumpy in their old age. They demand more courtship displays from males, and are more likely to eat the suitor. Despite that, given the choice males will pursue them instead of younger, more fertile females who won’t eat them.

For male brown widow spiders (Latrodectus geometricus), sex can be lethal. Like other spiders, such as black widows, females sometimes kill and devour males after sex. This is especially true of older females.

A team led by Ally Harari of the Agricultural Research …