6th sense?

[Alexander Ramsey]

So I got a breeding group of mature red phase chile' from the spider shop and have let them settle in a while. I put the male in with one of the females a couple of times and he turned away from her (he wasn't near her to start with) and set off up the glass.
I had another go this evening and after about 3 or 4 seconds he headed straight across the tank for the female, she did the same. See pics.

Not the best shots I know but after about 15 seconds she was full on threat postures and fangs out and "batting" him when he came near. I figured she'd had enough and got him out.

Is there any knowledge on the male to female and vice versa senses or is it just the usual senses like when they can tell there's a decent meal nearby?

While I'm on that, I've seen one of my T's turn down the last crix from an older box and take from the tweezers a 'fresh' one?

A pointer to any in depth literature on this would be appreciated.
Also breeding tips would be appreciated as this is my first attempt.

Thanks.

[wayne balcombe]

From the looks of the pictures mate theres a good chance it was a successful mating.

The male has clearly engaged his tibial spurs and the female looks to be in a receptive position. did you see if the male inserted his palpal emboli?

If the only thing bothering you is how quickly they went there seperate ways then dont worrie, copulation is usually over in about 10-20 seconds, less in some cases.

[Alexander Ramsey]

Unfortunately I couldn't see for sure, the female is half of a twin tank with another MF in the other tank and my T blondi on the other side so the angle of the pics is pretty much the only angle of sight. I'm not worried at all now the male is out in one piece lol and after the last couple of attempts where he was clearly not interested, it was all a bit of a rush. As you can probably tell from the pics.
Camera, 20" tongs, container to get the male into, uh oh she's going for him, get him out, crikey that was impressive.
Very exciting stuff for my first attempt.
But what made me start this thread is how ater about 3 seconds of being put in the females tank, approx 12" from her, they both just sensed each other and came together, there was no drumming that I could see or searching etc they just knew which made me curious about how intense the sensory perception is?

Anyway, thanks for the vote of confidence wayne.

[James Box]

I believe tarantulas use pheromones. the male can pick up the "taste/scent" of a female from her silk, which is why touching the male's feet with a female's silk can get him "in the mood", as he has chemoreceptors in his feet.

the female can pick up vibrations as well as the male's scent, i think...his vibrations are different to that of a struggling insect. however, both can make mistakes!

i mated a pair of Chaetopelma olivaceum last night, and it took over 40 minutes lol, so sometimes it can take ages!

[Rico Golledge]

Looks like he's certainly got her hooked, good luck for a sac