朝日受け 金糸銀糸の 女郎蜘蛛

Jorougumo (Prostitute spider) is spreading a splendid net getting the rising sunshine in the grove. In the middle of the net, a female with a body length of about 3 cm stretches her long legs to the full and waits for food. At the edge of the net, there is a male, sometimes a few, with about half sizes of the female. When the female catches a game and begins to eat it, the male approaches the female with a chance to mate, exhausts all sperm, and returns to its original point before itself is eaten by the female. Sometimes it is found and eaten by females, and sometimes males compete with each other and the losing male is eaten by females. After successfully mating, the male returns to its original location and keeps watch there until the female lays eggs, this time keeping other males away from the female. I feel like knowing the abyss of life. By the way, the name of the male is also Jorougumo.

朝日が差す木立に女郎蜘蛛が見事な巣を張っています。真ん中には体長3cm位の雌が長い足をいっぱいに伸ばしてじっと餌を待ち受けています。巣の端っこには雌の半分ほどの雄が、時には数匹、肩身狭そうに居候しています。巣に餌が掛かって雌がこれを食べ始めると、ここがチャンスと雌に近寄り交尾し、全精子を使い果たし、雌に食べられない内に、また元のところに帰ります。時には雌に見つかって食べられることもあり、また雄どうしが争い、負けた雄は雌に食べられることもあります。交尾も無事終え元のところに帰り着いた雄は、今度は他の雄が雌に近寄らないように、雌が産卵するまでそこで見張り続けます。命の深淵を知る思いがします。因みに雄の名前も女郎蜘蛛です。