CHAPTER V 



Courtship and Mating 



OPIDERS HAVE GONE TO GREAT 



lengths to ensure that the chain of life continues strong and un- 

 broken. The bringing-together of the sex cells is accomplished by 

 these arachnids in a manner so extraordinary that the various strange 

 details almost transcend belief. Completely lacking a primary in- 

 tromittent organ at the site of the genital opening, the male spider 

 has developed a secondary one of wonderful complexity at the end 

 of each of the pedipalpi. The female has also developed, in comple- 

 ment to the palpi of the male, an organ called the epigynum, which 

 lies immediately in front of the genital opening and which is spe- 

 cialized to receive the male palpus, to store the sperms, and to com- 

 municate them to the liquid body of the egg mass 'at the time of 

 egg laying. 



The roles of the male and female preparatory to and during the 

 mating are quite distinctive. Soon after the male become mature, 

 following the last molt, when the palpal organ is completely de- 

 veloped, he transfers to the palpi the sperm produced in the testes. 

 This step is termed sperm induction. Next he must find a female 

 and overpower her, or must elicit through characteristic actions an 

 acquiescence to his desire for mating. The series of actions that 

 mark the period during which he is endeavoring to gain her recog- 

 nition is called courtship. The mating itself is accomplished by 

 means of a series of accessory apophyses on the palpi, on the legs, 

 or on other parts of the body, which seize and orient the bodies of 

 both sexes in such a way that the palpal organ can come in contact 

 with the apparatus of the epigynum. On the other hand, the role 

 of the female is a more passive one; she needs only to ascertain 

 through instinctive means that the presence of the male is to be 

 welcomed and to conform to the distinct pattern that makes possible 

 a successful mating. 



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