--- description: Nat Geo Wild Animal Dance Battles showcases the mating dance of peacock spiders title: See the Peacock Spider Mating Dance on Nat Geo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch This Mesmerizing Mating Dance of the Peacock Spider  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 4, 2016 9:37 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jan 4, 2016 9:37 PM CUT The latest sneak peak at an upcoming episode of _Destination Wild_ on Nat Geo Wild is particularly colorful. The approximately three-minute clip explains the elaborate mating ritual of the male peacock spider. The fun starts at one minute and 30 seconds, when he pats the leaf litter repeatedly as if he is playing bongos, hoping the vibrations will get the attention of a female. If she comes towards him, he sticks his rainbow abdomen straight up into the air and gradually inches towards her as his third legs stick out from his sides. In this case, however, the female wiggles her backside at him, presumably signaling that she is not impressed. Sorry, single male humans: No word on whether this ritual works on female humans. [This episode](http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/destination-wild/ "undefined") on various animals’ mating rituals _—_ entitled “Dirty Dancing” _—_ will air Jan. 10 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/"},"headline":"Watch This Mesmerizing Mating Dance of the Peacock Spider","datePublished":"2016-01-04T21:37:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:28:16.184Z","description":"Single men, take notes","url":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/","name":"Watch This Mesmerizing Mating Dance of the Peacock Spider"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A 100-Year-Old Sex Therapist on Having Good Sex, Then and Now","description":"A practicing sex therapist in New York City, Dr. Shirley Zussman has witnessed everything from the legalization of the contraceptive birth control pill to the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s to the rise of internet porn in the new millenium.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uJFYIrvP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-20T13:40:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uJFYIrvP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/","duration":"PT3M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4166693/peacock-spider-mating-dance-nat-geo/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```