References:

Andrade M.C.B (1998) Female hunger can explain variation in cannibalistic behavior despite male sacrifice in redback spiders, Behavioral Ecology Vol. 9 No.1, 33-42.

Arnqvist, G. and S. Henriksson (1997) Sexual cannibalism in the fishing spider and a model for the evolution of sexual cannibalism based on genetic constraints. Evolutionary Ecology 11:255-273.

Buskirk R.E., Frohlich C, Ross K.G. (1984) The Natural Selection of Sexual Cannibalism
American Naturalist 123: 612-625

Elagr M.A., Schneider J.M. and Herberstein M.E. (2000). Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope keyserlingi, Royal Society, 267, 2439-2443.

Elgar M.A. and Schneider J.M. (2002) Sexual cannibalism in Nephila plumipes as a consequence of female life history strategies, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 15, 84-91.

Elgar, M.A. (1991) Sexual cannibalism, size dimorphism, and courtship behavior in orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae). Evolution 45:444-448.

Forster R.L.M. (1992), The Stereotyped Behavior of Sexual Cannibalism in Latrodectus Hasselti Thorell (Araneae, Theridiidae), The Australian Red Backed Spider Australian Journal of Zoology 40: 1-11 

m vatia

Female Misumen vatia.

Image courtesy of Jorgen Lissner.

Moya-Larano J. , Halaj J., and Wise D.H. (2002) Climbing to reach females: Romeo should be small, The Society for the Study of Evolution, 56(2), 420-425.

Sasaki, T. and I. Osamu (1995) Sexual cannibalism in an orb-weaving spider Argiope aemula. Animal Behavior 49:1119-1121.

Schutz D. and Taborsky M. (2005) Mate choice and sexual conflict in the size dimorphic water spider Argyroneta aquatica (Aganeae, Argyronetidae), The Journal of Arachnology, 33, 767-775.

Snow LSE, Abdel-Mesih A, Andrade MCB (2006) Broken copulatory organs are low-cost adaptations to sperm competition in redback spiders, Ethology 112:4, 379-389

West_Eberhard (2005) Developmental plasticity and the origin of species differences. PNAS
102:6543– 6549.

Images:

Jørgen Lissner. "Spiders of Europe: Images and Species Descriptions". http://www.jorgenlissner.dk/Thomisidae.aspx

"Myccobayb's Photo Journal". http://miccobayb.blogspot.com/2008/04/red-back-spider-after-feeding.html

"Arkive: Images of Life on Earth". http://www.arkive.org/water-spider/argyroneta-aquatica/image-A12751.html?displayMode=credits

ebmlatame (Ron). www.flickr.com/photos/25747229@N00/2635119887/

Frank's Photo Essays: Adventures with curiousity and learning. http://frank.itlab.us/photo_essays/wrapper.php?jan_21_2007_nephila.html