Spiders have THREESOMES because males want to avoid getting eaten after sex, scientist reveals
Kinky arachnids enjoy group romps which last up to four hours and result in the death of at least one of the unlucky male participants
FOR male wolfspiders, the act of physical love is truly bittersweet - because they are eaten soon after their romp concludes.
Now scientists have revealed that the unluckiest arachnids in the world have devised a kinky coping strategy: having threesomes which go on for up to four hours at a time.
The male spiders gave a vested interest in lasting for as long as possible, because at least one of them will end up becoming their lover's dinner.
This bizarre behaviour was spotted by Matthew Persons, a professor of biology and ecology at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, who spent hours watching the spiders have threesomes.
"By the third time I saw it, it's like, 'I've got to take detailed study of this,'" .
"Because they were in my yard, I scooped them up and brought them onto my dining room table and proceeded to take photos and document their positions for the next 4 hours."
Life for male wolf spiders is pretty rough, because the female of the species builds up a ferocious appetite during sex.
But even before they begin their doomed love affair, males must perform a complex courtship ritual which leaves them at risk of being eaten by predators.
There's also a risk their lady friend will swallow them up if they're not impressed by the attempts to woo them.
Once they have managed to charm the lady into having sex with them, another male often joins in.
These threesomes are made easy by the fact the lady have a pair of private parts.
However, the sordid sex can result in a painful experience for the female spider's first lover, because the other amorous arachnid sometimes clumsily puts his willy in the wrong place.
Related Stories
"In my direct observations, males showed … sparring, missed insertions, attempts at … insertions into the other male's venter [underside] and attempts to displace the other male during insemination," Persons continued.
He even found that one chap lost a leg whilst having sex.
A study on Persons' "research" has now been published in and it's bound to horrify people who are scared of spiders.
He plans to continue watching spiders have threesomes - and there's nothing weird about that at all.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368