Silence is Golden, But Patience is Even Better!

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:39:53 +0000

Patience is a virtue in many areas of life. It is definitely true when it comes to the health benefits of chiropractic care. A patient may feel better, lots better in fact, after an initial chiropractic adjustment, but it takes time to retrain the musculoskeletal system when it has been forced to endure poor posture, unhealthy gait, and repetitive stress. But, just to prove my point, I offer the mating ritual of the female Australian redback spider, known affectionately, and not just here in Australia, as one of the world’s most poisonous spiders. It is a close relative to the black widow. What does the mating ritual have to do with patience? Well, the little lady demands 100 minutes of courting (that’s right, mate, 100 minutes!) or else she’ll cannibalize her male suitor, according to recent research.

But, the good news is that size doesn’t matter! Proving that bigger isn’t always better in the mating game, the tiniest of males sometimes approach female redbacks after offering the critical 100 minutes of wooing and successfully mate without being eaten, according to the paper in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study shows that a puny male of this species can win at love after spending the time (but without exerting much effort). “Based upon our data of the timing of premature lethal cannibalism, it appears as though females are not tuned to select male size, but rather the duration of courtship,” said Jeffrey Stoltz who, a long with colleague Maydianne Andrade, co-authored the study.

Well, I think I’ve proved my point! Patience, if not virtuous, can often bear fruit!

For more on the “courtship dance” and other interesting facts about mating ritual of the redback spider, go to: discovery.com

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Australian Chiropractors » Australian redback spider

Silence is Golden, But Patience is Even Better!