Octopuses lead a fairly short life and both the male and female die shortly after reproducing. The male octopus uses a specialized arm to insert packets of sperm into the female’s mantle cavity. Within a few weeks after mating the male octopus usually dies.
The female octopus stores the sperm and when her den is ready will fertilize her eggs. She will lay her eggs in strings on the upper side of her den. The female octopus will now spend all her time tending to her eggs. Gently blowing seawater over the eggs she keeps them clean and oxygenated. The female will remain in her den until the eggs hatch. The female octopus will not eat for the entire time she is brooding her eggs so by the time the eggs hatch she is in a very weakened state and will die soon after. The lifespan for Octopus vulgaris is between 12 and 15 months (Katsanevakis and Verriopoulos 2005).