1977] 
Tietjen — Dragline- Following by Spiders 
169 
Table I: Performance of Male Lycosa rabida and Male L. 
Dragline-Following of Conspecific Male, Female, 
L. rabida 
punctulata During 
and Imitation Silk. 
L. punctulata 
Primed 
Unprimed 
Pooled 
Number of males tested 
52 
69 
57 
number following 
44 
45 
40 
number not following 
8 
24 
17 
Distance (cm) 
Y total distance 
23.1 ±2.3 
26.7 ±.2 
56.9 ±8.7 
Y polarity 
+ 7.9 ± 3.3 
-6.5 ±4.2 
+ 5.3 ±2.4 
Courtship 
Frequency 
27.2% 
26.6% 
12.5% 
Y latency (min) 
1.4 ±.4 
1.1 ± .3 
1.4 ±.8 
Imitation and male draglines 
number followed 7 
4 
0 
number not followed 
6 
12 
16 
Ground lines 
number followed 
0 
0 
13 
number not followed 
18 
9 
4 
followed draglines, no significant difference was found in the total 
distance followed between primed and unprimed animals (Mann- 
Whitney test, T = 1069.5, P > .72). No males of either group fol- 
lowed ground lines, although they would usually examine such lines 
with their palps (Table I). 
None of the male L. rabida followed isolated imitation draglines; 
and chemoexploratory behavior to such lines was exhibited only 
five times. Males in the process of following a female line would 
occasionally follow imitation and male draglines laid contiguously 
with the female trail (Table I). Once, a male following a female line 
continued on and followed the entire length of a human hair that 
constituted an 8.5 cm interruption in the female trail, losing no 
momentum in his following behavior. Male draglines were fol- 
lowed four times, human hairs were followed six times and nylon 
thread was followed once. 
The polarity of each male’s trail was calculated as the difference 
between total distance traveled in the same direction as the female 
