Female wolf spiders do not prefer made-up males: an experimental study in Schizocosa malitiosa
2014
Griffero, L. | Aisenberg, A. | Costa, F.G.
Males frequently show conspicuous decorations for attracting selective females. In Schizocosa malitiosa , a large Neotropical wolf spider, males have long forelegs with ventral, large, dark setae. Raised forelegs are shaken and exposed to the females during courtship. We experimentally tested if male long and dark leg setae are traits driven by female choice in this spider by exposing females to males with painted black forelegs, males with painted white forelegs and males without treatment, maintaining a white background. Females did not show preference for any male group, suggesting they select males by other characteristics. The experimental technique did not significantly affect male courtship and could be useful to modify sexually selected male traits on other spiders with good vision.
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