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Losing a leg in youth changes how male harvestmen woo females

Harvestmen can shed legs when attacked by predators, but this survival tactic may have lifelong ramifications for the future sexual strategies of young males

By Jake Buehler

9 June 2023

Harvestment can remove one of their own legs to escape a predator

Harvestment can remove one of their own legs to escape a predator

Erin Powell

Losing a leg early in life makes a male harvestman much more likely to grow up into a sneaker than into a fighter.

Young male harvestmen (Forsteropsalis pureora) – sometimes known as daddy longlegs – regularly mature into slim, meek adults if they lose a leg. Researchers think this may be because missing limbs make it more difficult to gather the food required to grow into a brawny, belligerent arachnid.

Males of many harvestmen species have evolved weaponry such as leg …

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