88 The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 



one would ever suppose, without other evidence, 

 that the males' and females had any relation- 

 ship to each other. The most extreme cases of 

 this kind are Argiope and Ncphila, where the 

 male is about a tenth as large as the female. 

 Fig. 43 represents male and female of Nephila 

 plumipes described by Wilder. 



Fig. 44- 



The female of one of the common crab spi- 

 ders is white as milk, with a crimson stripe on 

 each side of the abdomen ; while the male is a 

 little brown-and-yellow spicier, with dark mark- 

 ings of a pattern common in the family to 

 which it belongs. 



In the genus Erigone, which includes the 

 smallest known spiders, the males often have 



