52 PECKHAM. [Vol. 1. 



his abdomen dragging, first on one side and then on the other. 

 Number two was evidently of good courage, for he held his 

 ground, and, not relinquishing the gnat, raised his legs and 

 clinched with his antagonist. The battle raged for five minutes ; 

 finally number one pulled the gnat from the other, and then 

 chased him away. 



For several days following life in the mating box was 

 robbed of its monotony by perpetual battles among the males. 

 The females, in eluding them, jumped and hung from a 

 thread. At one time a small one guarded a female for some 

 hours in a corner; she once slipped away and ran a few inches, 

 but when another male began to pay court to her, she ran back 

 and crept under the body of her protector. After two or three 

 days each of the two large males took possession of a female, 

 spun a web over her, and spinning a second sheet above as a 

 cover for himself, remained quiet in the little nest thus formed 

 for a week. During this time every spider that approached 

 was driven away. They went out occasionally for food, but 

 were not seen to carry any to their mates. 



At the end of a week number one was observed to be 

 pairing with his female, which had moulted and was now 

 mature. The two were separated, when the male went hunt- 

 ing about and finally sprang upon an unmated female, three 

 inches away from the other nest, whereupon number two ran 

 out, attacked him violently, drove him away, and then returned 

 to his nest. Number one, while wandering about, caught sight 

 of his own mate and sprung upon her without any of the 

 preliminary attention before noticed. From this time forward, 

 the big, wandering male, his occupation gone, became a very 

 thorn in the flesh to the other, whose female had not yet 

 matured. Not only did he continually approach the nest, thus 

 arousing a jealous fury in its owner, which was not called out 

 by any of the other spiders, but whenever the rightful owner 

 was away from home, chasing intruders or procuring food, this 

 disturber of domestic peace made his way into the nest. The 

 first time this happened, the owner, returning, ejected him 



