Would you get a second male?

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Originally Posted by Andrew Larson

So let me just get this straight. A female does not actually obtain a male's sperm untill she begins to develop follicles? All the stuff before that in the winter is just "foreplay"?

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This is something that is still unsure.. I have had females this year develop follicles simply because they are housed close to a breeding pair. Then I've had females that didn't start developing untill they started breeding..

I also know that not every time we see a "lock" they aren't truly locked up.. So yes there is some "Foreplay" that goes on it's called Courting..

I guess I more meant to ask if you use a male early on in the season, can you be sure that the babies will be from the second male, and not the first?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andrew Larson

I guess I more meant to ask if you use a male early on in the season, can you be sure that the babies will be from the second male, and not the first?

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Nope.. Sometimes you'll even get mixed clutches..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andrew Larson

So let me just get this straight. A female does not actually obtain a male's sperm untill she begins to develop follicles? All the stuff before that in the winter is just "foreplay"?

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I could be totally wrong but I don't think that is right because there have been postings/stories of females retaining sperm from previous year partners and getting clutches from those previous year partners even though they were not bred in the current year

I was actually thinking about getting a proven spider male for two of my girls and letting my bee have the other 4 girls. After reading the last few posts, I thought about putting the proven male to all the girls to get them going, but if there is a chance he can produce all the offsping, I will just let my bee have the 4 girls and spider (if I get him) have the other 2.