decreased food per spider, it also allows each spider to expend less energy in producing silk for the web. In a group setting, size determines prey consumption, as the largest spider that detects the prey wins the prey about 80% of the time. Because food is limited in a natural habitat, increased food level significantly decreases development time of the spider from egg to adult and increases size, especially in males. This allows larger males to have a competitive advantage when stealing food from females’ webs. For females, however, the extra molt that they sometimes undergo when the food supply is low increases their size. Since larger individuals often steal food from smaller individuals, females that were raised under low-food conditions have a competitive advantage. Webs H. pluchei build two types of webs, curved prey-capture sheets to capture prey and dome-shaped webs. Dome-shaped webs are built by egg-carrying members of the species. They completely surround the female and the eggs in a spherical structure and are attached to branches or the side of buildings. Once the eggs hatch, the female exits the dome and the spiderlings remain until their first molt. The spiderlings then either construct their own prey-capture sheet web or join an already existing one. Holocnemus pluchei move to new webs frequently throughout their lifespan, making it difficult to follow an individual over the course of its life. Reproduction and life cycle Fertilization During fertilization, the female’s projecting sternum interacts with the male’s clypeus specifically during sperm transfer, indicating that, rather than having a stridulatory purpose, the female’s sternum instead plays a role in sexual selection. This interaction may allow the female to exert some level of control over the copulatory actions of the male, since contact has been observed specifically when the male exerts genital pressure on the female during sperm transfer. The projecting sternum may act as a mating filter and selective pressure on the males, allowing only those males who are still able to transfer sperm despite the physical constraint of the sternum. Females tend to mate multiple times, and the second male has a higher likelihood of reproductive success, fertilizing 65-82% of the female’s eggs. Once fertilized, the female carries the egg sac in her fangs while waiting for the spiderlings to hatch. Females do not feed during this time and instead devote their energy to guarding the egg sac from predators. Brood size