Male Spiders and Oral Sex

by Cameron Park 

So, spiders have generally been known to do weird things during sexual reproduction.For example, some spider species have been known to castrate themselves and some females are known to eat their male counterparts after doing the deed. 

Recently, scientists have discovered another interesting sexual trait of spiders, namely the Darwin’s bark spiders (Caerostris darwini) found in Madagascar. And that sexual behavior is comparable to oral sex. Specifically, the male spider has been known salivate on the genitalia of the female spiders as part of their sexual behavior. They typically do this before, during and after mating. Some spiders will perform this act as many as 100 times.

One reason this may be a prevalent behavior is that it can boost chances of producing offspring and can also help establish a chemical environment that would make their sperm seem more fit than others. There have also been enzymes found in male spiders that may be used to destroy seem leftover from previous mating partners. 

Oral sex is very rare in the animal kingdom with mammals being the only ones to have shown this tendency (namely, lemurs (!), bats, dolphins, lions). These mammals have been observed engaging in more fellatio-like behavior while the cunnilingus-like behavior shown by the bark spiders s even more rare.