A review of the mechanisms and functional roles of male silk use in spider courtship and mating

@article{Scott2018ARO,
  title={A review of the mechanisms and functional roles of male silk use in spider courtship and mating},
  author={Catherine E. Scott and Alissa G. Anderson and Maydianne C. B. Andrade},
  journal={The Journal of Arachnology},
  year={2018},
  volume={46},
  pages={173 - 206}
}
Abstract Spiders are well known for using chemical, vibratory, tactile, and visual signals within mating contexts. All spiders produce silk, and even in non-web building spiders, silk is intimately tied to courtship and mating. Silk produced by females provides a transmission channel for male vibratory courtship signals, while webs and draglines provide a substrate for female sex pheromones. Observations of male spiders producing silk during sexual interactions are also common across… 
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21 Citations

Silk-borne chemicals of spider nuptial gifts elicit female gift acceptance
TLDR
The findings suggest that silk-borne chemicals of nuptial gifts prime female responses, potentially signalling male quality or manipulating females into mating beyond their interests given the occurrence of male cheating behaviour via nutritionally worthless gifts in this system.
Fifty shades of silk: sexual behavior and bridal veil deposition in the spider Ctenus longipes
TLDR
The data did not support the hypothesis that bridal veil deposition is related to sexual cannibalism avoidance because females were not immobilized during mating, larger females did not present longer silk bindings, and the authors did not observe aggressions in any case.
Biting and binding: an exclusive coercive mating strategy of males in a philodromid spider
MALES OF THE WOLF SPIDER RABIDOSA RABIDA USE TWO MECHANISMS TO STUN FEMALES DURING COPULATION
The differences in energetic input between the sexes required to produce gametes translates to the differences in reproductive behavior and overall mating systems seen in a species. Females generally…
Females of a cannibalistic spider control mutilation of their genitalia by males
TLDR
It is found that female sexual cannibalism during copulation reduced the number of insertions a male was able to perform and hence limited the probability of genital mutilation by the male.
Multimodal and multifunctional signaling? – Web reduction courtship behavior in a North American population of the false black widow spider
TLDR
The data support the conclusion that web-reduction behavior of S. grossa males in their invaded North American range has no long-range effect on mate seeking males and has an inter-sexual signaling function that seems to be linked to functional spinnerets of the courting male.
Risky business: males choose more receptive adults over safer subadults in a cannibalistic spider
Abstract Understanding factors affecting male mate choice can be important for tracking the dynamics of sexual selection in nature. Male brown widow spiders (Latrodectus geometricus) mate with adult…
Two-spotted Spider Mites Respond to Chemical Cues Associated with Conspecifics’ Silk When Choosing a Microhabitat
TLDR
It is concluded that silk-bound semiochemicals provide cues used by both male and female mites when selecting a microhabitat, and that frass may also provide relevant social cues.
Solifuge (camel spider) reproductive biology: an untapped taxon for exploring sexual selection
TLDR
This review of sexual behavior research in solifuges discusses precopulatory mating patterns, the role of the female and male during mating, sexual dimorphism, and the influence of sexual selection during different stages of mating.
Male chemotactile cues are not attractive advertisements to Pardosa milvina (Araneae: Lycosidae) females in search of mates
TLDR
It is verified that the visually conspicuous male courtship displays are condition-dependent and important in attracting a female, and that any communication through chemical or tactile modalities is a more specific and individualized dialog that occurs during each courtship exchange.
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References

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TLDR
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TLDR
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TLDR
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TLDR
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TLDR
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TLDR
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