Smaller spiders get the ladies
Times Staff and Wire Reports
Little guys do it better, at least in the spider world, New Zealand researchers reported Monday in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Although hulking male redback spiders outcompete smaller males in head-to-head contests, the smaller ones mature faster and get to the females sooner. And they produce 10 times as many offspring, according to Michael Kasumovic of the University of New South Wales.
But whether they were big or small, the males were usually injured or killed in the process, he said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
