Spooky Spider

The Nursery Web Spider (Pisaurina Mira) or American Nursery Web Spider sitting on a flower.

Mating is a dangerous game for the males of this species, as the female spider sometimes attempts to eat the male after mating. The male, to reduce the risk of this, often presents the female with a gift such as a fly when approaching in the hope that this will satisfy her hunger. Sometimes, this gift is a fake present intended to fool the female. Males may wrap the fake gift in silk, to deceive the female to mate. Females can detect the fake gift and terminate mating, negating the male's deception in not giving a real gift.