TAIRIHG OF TEGENAEIA GUTOFII. 167 



confirm this ; for he remarks tliat tte male was only a second 

 hy the female, but adds : — " Ich glaube kaum dass da der Same 

 in die Samentaschen des Weibcliens gelangen konnte, wessbalb 

 ich diesen Vorgang als bloses Yorspiel zur eigentlichen Begat- 

 tung betrachte." In order to be sure that I had witnessed the 

 absolute coupling, I examined two females which had cast their 

 skin thrice in confinement, and had afterwards consorted with 

 the male as above related. The spermatheca were charged with 

 spermatozoa, but were not so full as if a few weeks had elapsed 

 after their impregnation. 



General Bemarks. — The sedentary habits of these spiders 

 {Tegenaria Guyonii) render them well suited for confinement ; 

 but their general avoidance of light is not favourable to observa- 

 tion. The males are the least susceptible in this respect ; and 

 their wandering habits may be the cause. Females will resort 

 to the darkest corners of a shaded square glass case. I exposed 

 to the light one of this sex in such a vessel 10 inches square and 

 6 inches high. She lined each side of her prison with sheets of 

 silk, as if she had attempted to darken it. 



With a view to better examination, I have several times moved 

 to sunlight a pairing couple ; but the female would resist the 

 continued addresses of the male until again in shade, and on the 

 gradual admission of light she would retire. 



The sudden disappearance of the males of many species lead to 

 the conclusion that they die shortly after the fulfilment of their 

 sexual destiny. Such is not the case with Tegenaria Guyonii °, 

 for I have seen one male in union with three females during twenty 

 days in August. He was healthy in December when killed for 

 dissection. The males are, however, rarely procurable in winter ; 

 but this cannot be said of the other sex. It would therefore 

 appear that either the females are more numerous during the 

 breeding-season, or that the males are shorter lived. Darwin 

 (' Descent of Man,' p. 255, 2nd ed.) states that he was informed 

 by Blackwell that males are more numerous than females with 

 a few species, but that in several species out of six genera the 

 reverse appears to be the case. He also refers (' Descent of Man ') 

 to Thorell (' On European Spiders,' p. 205) " speaking as if 

 female spiders were generally commoner than males;" but the 

 context of the passage shows that Thorell was alluding to the dif- 

 ficulty of obtaining mature males of all species, and the conse- 

 quent objection to basing specific distinction on their palpi. The 



