About Tidarren sisyphoides (Walckenaer, 1841)
Tidarren sisyphoides is a species of spider in the family Theridiidae, which are known as tangle web spiders. Males of this species are only approximately 10% the size of females. During copulation, the male dies while inserting his reproductive organs, and remains attached to the female for more than two hours. Females of this species do not eat their dead mates after mating, and the dead male is later removed from the web. Tidarren sisyphoides is distributed from the southern United States to Colombia, and is also found in the West Indies. In this species, after mating, the male's reproductive organs remain attached to the female's reproductive structure for an average of 2.4 hours. It is well-documented that male death occurs during copulation insertion. Female Tidarren sisyphoides reject multiple copulations; after mating, a female will remove any additional male that climbs onto her. Females produce egg clutches that contain approximately 238 eggs on average. Each egg measures around 0.66 mm in diameter and weighs approximately 0.16 mg. The average body mass of an adult female Tidarren sisyphoides is about 51.8 mg.
