Pelican Spiders

Suspended upside-down from a strand of silk, the male of species Eriauchenius workmani (right) slowly approaches the female (left) to mate. As he approaches, he makes sounds by quickly vibrating his pedipalps (a small, modified pair of legs) to court the female. She answers back by vibrating her pedipalps. They repeatedly make contact with each other using their legs many times before mating. Wood redescribed this species of pelican spider as part of her research.

Photo by Jeremy Miller