SCORPIONS, SPIDERS AND CRABS 247 



devoured." Again, in the case of a male of Phidippus 

 ruJuSf the display of his " ornaments " was his undoing, 

 for he was " caught and eaten when he insisted upon 

 showing off his fine points too persistently." Thus the 

 females seem to " select " the more resplendent males 

 as much for eating as for mating ! The ogre-like habits 

 of the females in this regard, indeed, are almost without 

 parallel in the animal kingdom. 



Anyone who cares to take the trouble to watch the 

 web of the large Garden Spider {Epeira diademata) may 

 witness one of these connubial tragedies. In this species, 

 the males are conspicuously smaller than the females, 

 and it is possible that this disparity has been brought 

 about by Sexual Selection, the largest and least active 

 males having been exterminated. In some species the 

 discrepancy in size is most striking, as for example in 

 Nephila chrysogaster, the female of which measures two 

 inches in length, the male not more than one-tenth of 

 an inch, and less than one one-thousand-three-hundredth 

 part of her weight. 



The males, apparently, fully realize the perils which 

 their amours may lead them into. They haunt the borders 

 of the webs of unmated females, but exhibit a hesitating, 

 irresolute manner. For hours they will linger near her, 

 feeling the silken carpet cautiously with their legs, and 

 apparently trying to ascertain the nature of the welcome 

 likely to be extended to them. The odds are against 

 them : for even if allowed to mate, unless they are 

 extraordinarily agile in slipping away the moment they 

 have attained their object^ the chances are they will 

 be slain and eaten ! 



Among some species, however, matters are otherwise : 

 for the males of the genus Linyphia, for example, are 



