The Friends of Charles Darwin

Sexual suicide, cannibalism and necrophilia are all involved in a macabre study that adds a new twist to the mating behaviour of spiders. Researchers found that for male orb-weaving spiders of the species Argiope aurantia completing copulation leads to certain death. The deceased suitor's corpse is then trapped in the female genitalia. This may be a strategy to prevent other males from subsequently mating with the female, say the scientists.