Incidence and permanence of mating plugs in females of the spider Philoponella tingens (Uloboridae)

In several animals, males produce substances that block the copulatory openings and ducts of females. We investigated variation in presence of “mating plugs” (MPs) in the spider Philoponella tingens. We studied the frequency of MPs in the wild and MP deposition and permanence in isolated females. In the field, over half of females had MPs, but all females collected without MPs were also mated. We identified two causes of MP absence in mated females: aggressive female prevention of plugging and MP loss. We suggest that future research should focus on understanding why MPs are lost in some females, the role of females in MP loss, and the fitness effects of plugging prevention and MP loss for both sexes.