Hunger -dependent female receptivity leads to optimal variable polyandria with equal aptitude in a nuptial gift spider

Female mating decisions are often plastic, dependent on the environment. In the spider of nuptial gifts Passura MirabilisThe optimal number of mating for females, that is, the number that maximizes aptitude, depends on the availability of dams and is regulated by hunger dependent receptivity. We determine the lower and upper optimal number of females (at high and low dam availability, respectively) and prove the hypothesis that women who obtain the optimal number of mates will achieve that same reproductive success regardless of what is the optimal number. In laboratory experiments, women 0, 1, 2 or 3 flies from house per day were offered as supplementary food and presented themselves daily with 4 males with gifts to oviposition. Fertility, oviposition latency, the success of the hatching of eggs and the number of living spiders were independent of the level of supplementary feeding. For women, mating and aggression towards men (theft of gifts and sexual cannibalism) are alternative ways to compensate for low food success. We confirm 2-3 as the optimum minimum number of mates. The maximum optimum mating number varied between 12 and 22-24 depending on the level of aggression of females. The plasticity of female behavior allows them to decoupling their physical status by dependence on the availability of the environmental dam through hunger dependent.

Søren Toft, Maria J Albo, the female receptivity dependent on hunger leads to an optimal variable polyandria with the same aptitude in a spider of bridal gifts, Evolution, 2025;, QPAF087, https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpaf087