• remon@ani.social
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    1 day ago

    That says nothing about captivity, though.

    And no, widows spiders don’t always eat their mate, but it common in some species. And often the male is the one initiating it.

      • remon@ani.social
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        2 days ago

        Not sure how common it with other widows, but the Australian redback male will pretty much shove his abdomen right into the females mouth parts while mating.

        But that’s when it get’s really messed up … she won’t kill him right away and they will continue to mate while he’s getting his insides digested.