Mate guarding by "T. clavipes" males is size-dependent. Because smaller males are less successful at physically competing with other males, they must invest much more time into successfully mating with a female on her web. As a result, it benefits the male more to search for a new web, rather than to spend even more time on the current web guarding the female with whom he has just mated. Conversely, larger males have a higher chance of winning access to a female at a new web and can thus afford to spend time engaging in mate guarding before searching for a new partner. The trade-off is that increased mate guarding generally results in a lower mate number, so males perceive a benefit in a higher mate number, guarding rates will generally decrease.