Hybrid widows.

[JAFUENTES]

Has there ever been a hybrid widow species before? I don't want to try if there hasn't this is just a med curiosity.

 

[pannaking22]

People have had some success hybridizing them, but there really isn't any hybrid vigor as far as I know, so the lines don't continue. Interestingly, it seems that hybridization only happens with certain males and females of different species (ex. male L. mactans with female L. hesperus could work, but not the other way around). Slings seem to have very high mortality too if I remember correctly.

 

[Richard McJimsey]

I had a male tredecimguttatus with a female mactans, and she produced a sac, but the eggs never made it past ewl status.

 

[JAFUENTES]

Interesting. The high mortality rate could be due to alto of incomparable genes on chromosomes that code for the same thing because they're so different.