The Colorful Mating Ritual of the Tiny Peacock Spider

April 15, 2011

Between September and November, the male Peacock spider performs a fascinating courtship ritual using its incredibly colorful abdomen. In addition to waving his legs, the male Peacock spider will also expand a pair of colorful flaps that are reminiscent of its namesake (3:02).

I’m normally ok around spiders. They freak me about as much as the next person, but whenever I find one around the house… I try to catch it and release it outside. I’m a softie usually, when it comes to the bugs as I like to avoid killing anything if I can help it.

We had a run of spiders in our apartment last year, where I think I spotted maybe 8 or 9 large ones in the space of an hour or two. Beyond moments like that though, I’m generally a catch-and-release kind of guy.

Watching this video, I fluctuate back and forth a great deal between thinking this guy is super cute and feeling a little freaked out. I guess it feels a little re-assuring that these guys are only about 4mm long.

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