Reproduction

 Unlike other organisms, the Cyclosa conica doesn’t mate with multiple partners, they only mate with one partner, just like us.  The Cyclosa conica females choose their mate depending on different factors, like their genotype, their health, genetic compatibility and also the conditions of the environment (Rittschoff et al. 2011).  Male Cyclosa conicas are similar to the females because they want to maximize their success in reproduction (Rittschof et al. 2011).  To make sure the female doesn’t mate with other males, the male Cyclosa conica, will block or plug up the female with his pedipalp, or sperm-carrying organ.  The blockage using the pedipalp makes it difficult for other males to mate with the female because after the pedipalps are inserted, they inflate making it hard for others to remove them.  For males this is an advantage because it ensures that their genes will be passed on (Economist 2003).

 Cyclosa conica females can devour the males after mating like many other spiders.  Instead of attacking the male, the male Cyclosa conica sacrifices himself before the female can do it herself.  After he has inserted both of his pedipalps, the male terminates himself (Economist 2003).  Minutes after the second pedipalp is insterted, his heartbeat ceases and he dies.  Since the male dies after inserting the second pedipalp, he only has one chance at reproduction and has to make sure he does it correctly (Economist 2003).  Females can eat the male after he dies to provide nutrients for the eggs.  In the case of Cyclosa conica, the males don’t provide the required nutrients a female needs since the male is smaller than the female (Blamires 2010).
 

Female Cyclosa conicas, after they mate with a male, will lay her eggs in abundance.  She will cover and encase her eggs in silk, which creates the sac.  Cyclosa conica lay their eggs in the fall and will hatch during the spring (Save Nature 2010).  When springtime comes and the Cyclosa conica begin to hatch from their eggs, they will stay in the sac and eat a yolk material that resides in their abdomen for nourishment.  The Cyclosa conica remain in the sac until their first molt.  Once the Cyclosa conica offspring mature, the males spend their lives looking for a female to reproduce with, while the females wait on their webs for the males (Saul and Julier 2010). 

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