116 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Jan., 



seen. She moulted on May 22. On that day (he had remained all this 

 time in her cage) I watched a curious kind of courtship between them 

 from 8.00 to 9.40 P.M. They hung opposite each other in the web, 

 he by his first pair of legs, she by her first and second, reaching out 

 and parrying with their other legs. His head pointed directly down- 

 ward, her body in a horizontal position with the dorsal side down. 

 During this process, wliich continued with few interruptions during 

 the period of observation, he changed his position only slightly, while 

 she moved about somewhat. Sometimes he made a short advance 

 toward her, then not holding his palpi directed anteriorly (as usual) 

 but with their stalks bent ventrad, so that the large palpal organs were 

 bent upon his cephalothorax ; at each such attempt at copulation the 

 striking of her legs against him seemed to frighten him, and he with- 

 drew. Both became quiet at 10.00. If this was a courtship, she 

 appeared more active in it than he. On May 23, 24 and 25 I watched 

 the pair at intervals, but saw no copulation. But at 10.20 P.M. on 

 May 26 I found them in copula; they certainly had not been more than 

 15 minutes in that act. This. copulation lasted without interruption to 

 11.31. Then he climbed to the bottom of the cage, when she actively 

 chased him, and finally contented herself with feeding upon a former 

 enshrouded victim. The attitudes of the two were as in the preceding 

 cases. Both palpi were continuously inserted at once, and neither 

 withdrawn, though each at intervals underwent a slight lateral move- 

 ment; they were so firmly fixed in her epigynal apertures as to bear 

 the greater part of his weight; at each side of each palpal organ was 

 clearly visible an evaginated, rounded sac, which collapsed after the 

 withdrawal of the palpi. This male had lost his third pair of legs; 

 with his fourth pair directed caudad he hung to the web ; the left foot 

 of his second pair was hooked to the tarsus of the left leg of her second 

 pair; the right foot of his second pair was hooked to the tarsus of the 

 right foot of her fourth pair; the left tarsus of his first pair rested 

 against the left tarsus of her fourth pair; and the right tarsus of his 

 first pair rested upon the tarsi of her first and second pairs. Next 

 day she killed this male. 



(4) While her young were scattered upon her web, I put in cJ' No. 

 245 to 9 No. 174. At the end of five minutes she rushed at and tried 

 to enshroud him, when I separated them. 



From these observations it is apparent that there is no real court- 

 ship on the part of the male; he approaches her with great caution, 

 tentatively touching her with his legs, and only then attempting copu- 

 lation when she remains immovable under his touches. In all the cases 



