COLOURS PRODUCED BY COURTSHIP 301 



When the males possess any special adornments 

 they make a point of displaying them as fully as pos- 

 sible. The male of Synageles picata (see fig. 53, page 

 256) has the first pair of legs especially thickened : 

 ' these are flattened on the anterior surface, and are of 

 a brightly iridescent steel-blue colour.' As he is ap- 

 proaching the female he pauses ' every few moments 

 to rock from side to side, and to bend his brilliant legs 

 so that she may look full at them ; ... he could not 



PIG. 64. Habrocestum splenderu ; position of male approaching female 

 (from Peckham) ; x about 8 or 9 times. 



have chosen a better position than the one he took to 

 make a display.' In fact, his attitude appears to have 

 first directed the attention of the authors to his pecu- 

 liar beauty. The male of Dendryphantes capita tus has 

 a bronze-brown face, rendered conspicuous by snow- 

 white bands, and, whether intentionally or not, he 

 assumes an attitude which serves admirably to expose 

 this feature to the attentive female. This, however, 

 is by no means his only charm, and his ' antics are 

 repeated for a very long time, often for hours, when at 



