The male spider is about 5.5mm long.
The male orb-weaving spider kills himself before the female has a chance to.
The palpi of male spiders serve as sexual organs.
The male spider is much smaller than the female, and unassumingly marked.
A female black widow is much more likely to deliver more venom than a male spider.
For all male spiders it is dangerous to seek a mate.
These conditions contribute to possible explanations for the sexual selection of body size in male spiders.
However, these large male spiders have long development times.
