12 PECKHAM. [Vol. 1, 



broad fact remains that, as a rule, the females are more power- 

 ful and more pugnacious than the males. Walckenaer, Menge, 

 Hentz and others give numerous instances where the male 

 meets his death through the fierceness of his mate ; in fact, the 

 danger is so imminent that after mating it is the habit in sev- 

 eral genera {Epeira and Tegnaria are mentioned by Walckenaer) 

 for the male to retire with precipitation from the web of the 

 female, as a reasonable precaution. The relations between the 

 sexes have been admirably characterized by Romanes in Ani- 

 mal Intelligence, where he says : " In many species the male spi- 

 der in conducting his courtship has to incur an amount of per- 

 sonal danger at the hands (and jaws) of his terrific spouse 

 which might well daunt the courage of a Leander. Ridicu- 

 lously small and weak in build, the males of these species can 

 only conduct the rites of marriage with their enormous and 

 voracious brides by a process of active manceuvering, which, if 

 unsuccessful, is certain to cost them their lives. * * * There 

 is no other case in the animal kingdom where courtship is 

 attended with any approach to the gravity of danger that is 

 here observable."' 



It might be supposed that in spiders the usual conditions 

 are reversed and that, as in some birds, the females are more 

 beautifully colored as well as more pugnacious than the males. 

 This, however, is not the case. Even where the coloration of 

 the two sexes is similar the tints of the male are usually 

 brighter ; and in many cases, especially among the Attidx, the 

 female is dull-colored, while the weak and unaggressive male is 

 extremely brilliant. 



There is a family of spiders, the Gasleracanthidm, compris- 

 ing a number of genera and several hundred species, widely 

 distributed and very rich in individuals. In the whole order 

 of spiders there is no group where the females are so univer- 

 sally remarkable for inactivity and sluggishness of movement. 

 After the web is made she remains, nearly all the time, stand- 

 ing motionless in the center. The males, so far as they are 



