60 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 



the consent of his unaesthetic partner, and, no doubt, had he been less 

 concerned to produce a fine effect upon his lady love, he could have used his 

 legs to better purpose in running away. Nevertheless, the manner in which 

 the snowy legs, as well as the white hairs upon the palps, were displayed 

 before the female's eyes, indicated that he had natural confidence that the 

 lady was to be won in this way, if won at all. 



The Peckhams appear to have no doubt that the purpose of this re- 

 markable display on the part of the dancing males is to win the favor of 

 their chosen partners. It seems to them beyond question that, during all 

 these complicated movements, the portions of the body which are most 

 highly decorated are exhibited to the watching female, and are displayed 

 in such wise as to give the most heightened effect to the coloring. It is 

 noted that the portions of the body among Saltigrade spiders which are 

 commonly most highly ornate, are those which are placed at the front of 

 the body, as, for example, the mandibles, which are often of bright metallic 

 colors, green or blue. The arrangement of the hairs upon the face, and 

 also the coloring of the fore legs, appear very commonly to be more attract- 

 ive than in any other portions of the body. 



Indeed, the Peckhams associate the development of this coloring upon 

 the fore parts of the body with the dancing habits which they so attract- 

 ively describe. They believe it to be the result of sexual 

 selection. In other words, the males which have the brightest 

 colors upon the fore parts of the body are precisely the ones 

 which have survived ; since, being more pleasing to the females, 

 they were the partners most frequently chosen, and thus the individuals 

 so marked more frequently transmitted their peculiarities to the offspring. 

 The males will pair as soon as they have the opportunity, and, as the 

 mating season lasts for two or three weeks, the most brilliant males may 

 easily be selected again and again. 



