210 



INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



other sea-fish, with baits cut from the bodies of their 

 comrades previously taken. The male of spiders not 

 unfrequently falls a victim to his mate. Baron de 

 Geer saw one that was seized by the object of his 

 attentions, enveloped by her in a web, and then de- 

 voured, — a sight which, he says, filled him with 

 horror and indignation*. This may, in part, account 

 for the small number of male spiders we find, com- 

 pared to the females, the latter being, we should 

 think, from fifty or a hundred to one. Were the 

 females not very prolific, therefore, and also exceed- 

 ingly sohcitous to preserve their eggs, the race would 

 probably soon become extinct. Our readers, who are 

 desirous of verifying these observations, may be told, 

 that the external mark by which the male spider is 

 distinguished from the female, consists in a sort of 

 bulging, or knob, at the extremities of the feelers 

 (palpi), which is wanting in the female. 



Male spider, with the pal^^i magnified. 



It may be useful to mention here a few other pecu- 

 harities of sexual distinctions. The greater size of the 

 female alone is, for the most part, sufficient, when 

 a male can be had for comparison ; otherwise, the 

 two sexes may be taken, even by very skilful natu- 

 ralists, for different species. It is necessary to ob- 

 * Memoires, vii. 180. 



