Wildlife Photographer Of The Year #58

Roman Willi (Switzerland) documents a rarely seen moment between two mating spitting spiders.

Roman kept returning to this spot, keen to document spitting spider behaviour and share the wonder of arachnids. They are ‘misunderstood,’ says Roman, and ‘need our help in conservation’. Roman’s perseverance was rewarded when he witnessed this rarely observed scene.

Spitting spiders are named after their behaviour of squirting a sticky substance at their prey to immobilise it. To mate, the male loads its two pedipalp appendages with sperm. The female rises and the male inserts these into the genital opening on the female’s abdomen. The female can store sperm for several months before laying eggs in a cocoon, which it then carries until the eggs hatch.