Once they mature, males of this species leave their webs and wander in search of females. When they find them, they wait around the edge of her web, sometimes building small webs of their own. We don't have any information on whether males or females mate more than once, or with more than one partner. Probably each female mates with one or more males. (Faulkner, 1999; Heiber, 1992; Hieber, 1992; Milne and Milne, 1980)

 

Mating System: Polygynandrous (promiscuous)

 

After mating, each female produces one or more (rarely 4, usually less) brown, papery egg sacs. They are roughly round in shape and up to 25 mm in diameter; each contains 300 to 1400 eggs. She attaches her egg sacs to one side of her web, close to her resting position at the center. (Faulkner, 1999; Heiber, 1992; Hieber, 1992; Milne and Milne, 1980)

 

Key Reproductive Features: Seasonal breeding; Gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); Sexual; Fertilization; Fertilization :: Internal; Oviparous

 

Each female watches over her eggs as long as she can, but she will die in the first hard frost, if not before. (Faulkner, 1999; Hieber, 1992)

 

Parental Investment: No parental involvement; Pre-fertilization; Pre-fertilization :: Protecting; Pre-fertilization :: Protecting :: Female; Pre-hatching/birth; Pre-hatching/birth :: Provisioning; Pre-hatching/birth :: Provisioning :: Female; Pre-hatching/birth :: Protecting; Pre-hatching/birth :: Protecting :: Female