ONH

Habronattus hirsutus Display and Mating

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    1 - Habronattus hirsutus male and female on adjacent rocks.

    05/14/2011 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    2 - Habronattus hirsutus male beginning a display to a female.

    05/14/2011 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    3 - Habronattus hirsutus male displaying to a female. The distinctive yellow stripe on the inside of the foreleg is visible.

    05/14/2011 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    4 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair, with the brown male above. The male transfers sperm to the female’s epigynum with his pedipalps. Slides 4-7 show the same pair.

    04/14/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    5 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair, with the brown male above. Slides 4-7 show the same pair.

    04/14/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    6 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair, with the brown male above. Slides 4-7 show the same pair.

    04/14/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    7 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair, with the brown male above. Slides 4-7 show the same pair.

    04/14/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    8 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair. The female is gray. Slides 8-12 show the same pair.

    04/19/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    9 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair. The female is gray. Slides 8-12 show the same pair.

    04/19/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    10 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair. The female is gray. Slides 8-12 show the same pair.

    04/19/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    11 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair. The female is gray. Slides 8-12 show the same pair.

    04/19/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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    12 - Habronattus hirsutus mating pair. The female is gray. Slides 8-12 show the same pair.

    04/19/2010 Mouth of the Elwha River, Port Angeles, Washington

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Video 1 - A male had approached a female. She chases him away.

Video 2 - Male displaying to a female on a nearby rock.

Like many spiders, Habronattus hirsutus males approach females carefully. In some cases a female will jump away, in others she may chase the male away. The male display in this species looks quite frantic, with males dancing and showing their forelegs to a female who may be a foot or more away. Males also sometimes drum on a surface with their abdomen.

Once a male is allowed to approach, he transfers sperm to the female’s epigynum, locaded on the ventral side near where the cephalothorax and abdomen join. The male uses his pedipalps for the sperm transfer.

See Seismic signals in a courting male jumping spider, for example. The web site for the Elias Lab, at Berkeley, has many wonderful videos of jumping spider behavior.
Also see Maddison Jumping Spider Courtship for many wonderful videos.