EESEAECHE8 UPON SPIDERS. 75 



Fig. 20 represents the female of the coronata spider 

 (Aranea corollcuta ii.J and fig. 21 its sexual part. I have not 

 yet seen its cocoons. 



Fig. 22 is the male of the conica spider (Aranea conica 

 L). One of its palpi compressed, and thus showing how 

 much it internally contains, is seen in fig. 23. Fig. 24 shows 

 the generating organs of the female, of a singular structure. 

 Fig. 25 represents the same organs in the female of the do- 

 mestic spider (Aranea domestica LJ I gave in 1788 15 a 

 figure of the palp of the male, although I was not then sure 

 that this was its instrument of generation. Little advan- 

 tage can be drawn from winding the silk of its cocoons, 

 but it is excellent for staunching blood from wounds. 



We may collect from the preceding observations upon 

 the generation of spiders, that the males are few in com- 

 parison with the females. The males may, moreover, be 

 distinguished from the females by superficial observers by a 

 mere inspection of the palpi, which are small in the latter 

 and large in the former. Let all the spiders be examined 

 which may fall under the eye, and none excepting females 

 will be found until July. If the males are many and 

 equal the females in number, where are they ? how do they 

 feed themselves ? At the time of their amours, there are 

 very few, or at least very few are seen, and if there were 

 many of them they would be seen to run in crowds where 

 love, pleasure and the necessity of reproducing draw them. 



How then, it will be said, are so few males sufficient 

 to fertilize so many females, especially since they require a 

 long and perilous ceremonial before coming to the fertilizing 

 act ? Every one knows that this is not new in nature ; but, 

 to get fid of every improbability, I will bring forth two ob- 

 servations made and many times repeated by me. 



The first is that not all the cocoons contain fertile eggs, 

 since, in fact, I had a few from which the little spiders never 

 came out ; a proof that the female spider had laid the eggs 

 without coupling, as many insects, reptiles, and even birds do. 



Secondly, I have observed that the eggs of spiders are 

 sometimes found fertile without any previous conjunction. 



15. Opuscoli scelti. VoL I, page 49. 



