Dying for some . . .

Spider news from Discovery.com:

For the first time, scientists have identified a member of the animal kingdom that dies spontaneously during sex.

While other animals, such as salmon and mayflies, die shortly after mating, the male Argiope aurantia is the first known species for which mating is an instantaneous trigger for death. . .

Jutta Schneider, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Bonn in Germany, said the surprising fact about Argiope aurantia males is that they "kill themselves, while in other species they have the females do the job for them."

I presume the last observation must be taken in context.

Posted by David on July 7, 2003 11:41 AM