A spider *chastity belt*?
Quote:
Researchers discover spider 'chastity belt'
Male spiders break off part of genitalia in female to deter other suitors.
BERLIN - A new study by German scientists of spiders' copulation techniques found that males leave part of their sex organ inside their female partner as a sort of "chastity belt" to deter rivals.
"By breaking off parts of their intromittent organs inside a virgin female, males can reduce sperm competition and thereby increase their paternity success," the Bonn University researchers wrote in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
After setting the tone by shaking the female's web, the male has only seconds to have sex before the larger female kills him. In over 80 percent of cases, the tip of the male's genital organ breaks off inside the female.
This appears to be the result of a hasty getaway — but also leaves behind a sort of chastity belt that keeps other males away, the study showed.
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Much has been left unsaid.
~ Does the detached 'part' eventually dissolve away?
~ Even if he escapes being killed by the female, does he go on living, without his 'part'?
~ Does the 'part' grow back so he can mate again, or does he die anyway from his injury?
Why do these scientists bother to publish such an incomplete account? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Inquiring minds want to know!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17468999/