Adaptive female sexual masochism and male necrophilia in a wolf spider

This dataset comprises three primary data files.
The first file “data20251117.(1)” contains morphological and behavioral metrics including: carapace length and width of females, males, and spiderlings measured with an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) to an accuracy of 0.01 mm, with carapace area calculated as a proxy for body size using the formula Area = π × (length/2) × (width/2); body mass determined using an electronic balance (ME 203, Mettler Toledo) with an accuracy of 0.01 mg; total scar area quantified from SEM micrographs using ImageJ (v.1.8.0) based on scale bars, expressed in square micrometers (µm²); and copulation duration, defined as the period from when the male mounted the female until he dismounted, recorded using stopwatches (XL-008, Qunque).
VariablesTreatment: The experimental group assignment for each mating trial. There are three groups: 'Control': One female and one male mated without any disturbance; 'Two_male': A second male was introduced to disturb the mating pair shortly after copulation began. 'Three_male': Two additional males were introduced to disturb the mating pair shortly after copulation began.Group_2: A shorthand code for the Treatment groups: 'b' for 'Control', 'c' for' Two_male', and 'd' for 'Three_male'.Male: Unique identification code for the individual male spider.Female:Unique identification code for the individual female spider.Male_mass: Body weight of the male individual, measured in milligrams (mg).Male_cara_length: Carapace length of the male, measured as the longest distance from the midpoint of the anterior edge to the midpoint of the posterior edge of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Male_cara_width: Carapace width of the male, measured as the distance from the leftmost to the rightmost point of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Male_cara_area: Carapace area of the male, calculated as a proxy for body size using the formula Area = π × (length/2) × (width/2), reported in square millimeters (mm²).Female_mass: Body weight of the female individual, measured in milligrams (mg).Female_cara_length: Carapace length of the female, measured as the longest distance from the midpoint of the anterior edge to the midpoint of the posterior edge of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Female_cara_width: Carapace width of the female, measured as the distance from the leftmost to the rightmost point of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Female_cara_area: Carapace area of the female, calculated using the formula Area = π × (length/2) × (width/2), reported in square millimeters (mm²).Male_left_embolus_length: Length of the male's left embolus (a genital structure), in millimeters (mm).Male_right_embolus_length: Length of the male's right embolus, in millimeters (mm).embolus_length: The average length of the male's left and right embolus, in millimeters (mm).Copulation_duration: The duration of copulation, defined as the period from when the male mounted the female to when he dismounted, recorded in seconds (s).Scar_area: The total area of wounds inflicted on the female's internal genital tract by the male's embolus during copulation. Quantified from SEM micrographs using ImageJ and reported in square micrometers (µm²).Eggsac_number: The number of egg sacs produced by the mated female during laboratory rearing after copulation.Spiderling_number: The total number of spiderlings hatched from all egg sacs produced by the female.Female_longevity: The post-mating lifespan of the female, recorded in days(d).Spiderling_cara_width: Carapace width of spiderlings, measured as the distance from the leftmost to the rightmost point of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Spiderling_cara_length: Carapace length of spiderlings , measured as the longest distance from the midpoint of the anterior edge to the midpoint of the posterior edge of the carapace, in millimeters (mm).Spiderling_cara_area: Carapace area of spiderlings, calculated using the formula Area = π × (length/2) × (width/2), reported in square millimeters (mm²).The description of unavailable information:
For rows 194–292 of the dataset, these data pertain to field‑mated female spiders. Because the females were already mated and carrying egg-sacs at the time of collection, we are unable to determine the conditions during mating or the morphological data of the males they mated with, including male mass, male carapace length, male carapace width, male carapace area, male embolus length, and copulation duration. Moreover, since our definition of female longevity is the time from the end of copulation to the death of the female, the longevity of field‑collected females cannot be recorded.
Rows 293–320 contain experimental data from matings between Embolus-broken males and unmated females. In these experiments, the females did not produce eggs after mating, so data on spiderling carapace are not available.
These data for the aforementioned items are all denoted as “NA”.

The second file "Survival rate" documents female spider survival rate at sequential time points (in days) after mating.
VariablesGroup: The experimental treatment group to which the female spiders belonged during the mating trial. This corresponds to the three groups defined in the mating experiment: 'Control', 'Two_male' and 'Three_male'.Day20: Data recorded at the 20-day time point after mating. This variable has two sub-components: 'Number of survivors' (The number of females alive in the corresponding group after mating) and 'Survival rate' (The proportion (or percentage) of females alive in the corresponding group after mating).Day40: Data recorded at the 40-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day60: Data recorded at the 60-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day80: Data recorded at the 80-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day100: Data recorded at the 100-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day120: Data recorded at the 120-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day140: Data recorded at the 140-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.Day160: Data recorded at the 160-day time point after mating. Similarly, includes 'Number of survivors' and 'Survival rate' for this time point.The third file "Figure 2D data" presents statistical data on male spider behavioral responses towards mated or unmated females that had been deceased for varying durations (measured in hours(h) or days(d)), including courtship rate, mounting rate, and necrophilic rate.
VariablesTime point after dead: The duration since the female spiders death. This is the key experimental timeline variable, and its unit could be recorded in hours (h) or days (d).Courtship rate with Unmated female: The probability of male spiders displaying courtship behavior toward an unmated deceased female at the given time point after death.Mounting rate with Unmated female: The probability of male spiders displaying mounting behavior (attempting to copulate) toward an unmated deceased female at the given time point after death.Necrophilic rate with Unmated female: The probability of male spiders displaying necrophilic behavior (defined as successful copulation with a deceased individual) toward an unmated deceased female at the given time point after death.Courtship rate with Mated female : The probability of male spiders displaying courtship behavior toward a mated deceased female at the given time point after death.Mounting rate with Mated female : The probability of male spiders displaying mounting behavior toward a mated deceased female at the given time point after death.Necrophilic rate with Mated female : The probability of male spiders displaying necrophilic behavior toward a mated deceased female at the given time point after death.Code/softwareThe carapace length, carapace width, and embolus length were measured using the software LAS (v.4.7).
Total scar area was quantified from SEM micrographs using the software ImageJ (v.1.8.0).