Estímulos sexuais no comportamento reprodutivo de machos de Mesabolivar delclaroi (araneae: pholcidae).

Abstract

Spider males use different strategies to stimulate their mate during the copulation and ensure its duration, increasing the chances of an offspring with their genes. The following study sought to analyze the functionality of the strategy used by males of Mesabolivar delclaroi (Pholcidae), where the male rubs the retrolateral bristles present in their palps on the female's abdomen. The spiders were collected at the Bosque John Kennedy situated in Araguari - MG and taken to the Laboratory of Natural and Reproductive History of Arthropods (LHINRA), where the experiments took place. At this moment, males with and without the bristles were used. These ones had their bristles removed manually with the aid of an ultra-thin tweezer. The results showed that, unlikely to what was expected the absence of these bristles reflected in a longer copulation time, however, this factor was not found associated with a greater number of egg sacs. It is believed, therefore, that these structures can assist in the increase of the friction during the copulation reducing its duration, once it favors the connection between the pedipalp and the female’s gonopore. Besides, the bristles can act as an important factor of sexual selection by the female.