Are multiple copulations harmful? Damage to male pedipalps in the funnel-web wolf spider Aglaoctenus lagotis (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Abstract

Damage to genital structures during copulation has been reported in about twenty spider families, but never in Lycosidae. Aglaoctenus lagotis (Holmberg, 1876), a South American wolf spider, is one of the few that live their whole lives in funnel-webs. This work reports on the damage to pedipalpal bulbs observed in males of the “southern Uruguay” form of A. lagotis with multiple copulations. Observed damage consists of the irreversible expansion of the hematodocha and even its explosion. A high copulation cost resulting from multiple and long-lasting copulations could be causing this damage, affecting the mechanism of sperm transference in a definitive way. This is the first report of pedipalp damage in lycosids, and also the first report of damage involving the hematodocha in spiders.