PART I-COURTSHIP AND MATING OF SPIDERS. 



CHAPTER I> 



WOOING AND MATING OF ORBWEAVERS. 



I. 

 Thkre is nothing in the Ufe history of spiders that seems to me more 

 mysterious and wonderful than tlie faculty by which the male finds the 

 female to fulfill his office in Nature and fertilize the eggs. Over all diffi- 

 culties an<l distance, through the midst often of a multitude of 



Tne Mys- individuals of various families and genera, and with apparently 



tftrv of . . *" . 



1^ .. unfailing accuracy, the males of the several species find their 



api)ropriate mates. 



It is impossible to determine definitely how wide is the circuit over 

 which is scattered any single brood of s})iderlings after its cxode from the 

 cocoon. Circumstances may confine all the individuals to a comparatively 

 narrow si^ace. More commonly, perhaps, through the aeronautic habit, by 

 the agency of passing winds, they are dispersed throughout a wide region. 

 Under ordinary circumstances, at least, the space is practically impassible 

 by spiders whose habits are as sedentary as those of Orbweavers. Yet such 

 is the power of the marital sense, and so strong and true the guidance of 

 sexual feeling, thatj over all barriers of environment the male reaches his 

 proper consort. As far as I know, he never makes a mistake by falling 

 u[ion the web of an alien species. At all events, if such error occurs, he 

 knows enougli to promptly turn away. 



The partner whom the Orbweaver gallant seeks is commonly seated in 

 a well isolated nest, or at the hub of her snare, separated by a distance of 

 several inches from him as he travels over the leaves, twigs, and 

 '^^■'^ _ other material upon which the foundations of the orb are hung. 



^ , r. (See Fig. 1.) The errant lover's difficulty in finding a mate must 

 His Mate certainly be increased by this fact, for in his cautious aj^isroaches 

 he is not able to draw very near, but must determine through a 

 distance relatively great the question of identity: "Is this a partner of my 

 species or not?" He touches the outer foundation line of the orb, and 

 determines the question from that position. If he is satisfied, he settles 

 near or upon the web, and awaits the issue of his courtship. 



And now, how has he determined, simply from contact with the snare 

 spun by his chosen sjjouse, that this is the indivi<lual whom he .seeks? 



(1.5) 



