Linyphid spider courtship: Releaser and attractant functions of a contact sex pheromone

Experiments with male bowl-and-doily spiders (Frontinella communis) on methanol-washed and unwashed female webs indicate that the courtship of males is chemically released. Parallel experiments on the webs of females of another linyphiid species and on immature F. communis webs indicate that the releaser pheromone is species specific and that it is produced only by mature females. The pheromone that releases male courtship also functions as an attractant, changing the male's orientation from negatively to positively geotactic. The presence or absence of a female on the test web has only a slight effect on the male's behaviour.