From Rosellini’s brilliant series Green Porno:
In that spirit, here’s a recent photograph of a tiny male Nephila silk spider approaching a female:
For male spiders, size does matter. The smaller the better.
MYRMECOS
Little Things Matter
That’s how you do it.
Well. It’s not how *I* do it.
It’s a pity “Green Porno” is probably considered too much for kids, because I’ll bet it would be a great way to get them interested in science.
It might be well-suited for middle school students. Interest in science drops off steeply then, and videos like these would appeal to middle-schoolers’ immature attitude toward sex. Of course, the big obstacle would be the masses of prudish parents and cowardly school districts, who (understandably) would object to this quite adventurous material.
It’s worth noting that in Nephila, the striking size difference is due to females getting larger over time, not males shrinking.