204 
Psyche 
[Vol. 88 
Simultaneous with the initiation of sound production, the male 
extends his legs I forward, positioning them just above and parallel 
to the substrate, and spread approximately 40° apart. The tarsi and 
metatarsi are turned upward about 15° and occasionally flicked 
upward together. On 1 occasion, at a distance of about 1 cm from 
the female, the tarsi and metatarsi were flicked continuously for 
several seconds at approximately 2 flicks per second. 
The male’s approach usually is direct, without the zigzag move- 
ment (lateral stepping movement) characteristic of some other 
Phidippus species and many other salticids. Forward movement is 
slow and halting, the male often remaining in one spot for several 
minutes. Total courtship time is long compared to the rapid advance 
of the males of some Phidippus species, on 3 occasions lasting 
approximately 8 minutes before the female terminated the courtship 
by leaving the vicinity. These 3 longest courtships reached an 
advanced stage, wherein the male brought his legs I closer together, 
touched the female, and attempted to mount her; however, none of 
the 4 females allowed their male sibling to mate with them. Instead, 
each raised her legs I to repel him, and, if the male was persistent, 
lunged sharply forward with open fangs, struck downward with the 
legs I, and forced him backward; the female then left the vicinity. 
On 2 occasions, the male performed a zigzag display; once prior 
to assuming his stridulatory stance, and once in the middle of 
courtship after several sequences of stridulation. In the first in- 
stance, the zigzag display was brief, lasting less than 30 seconds and 
consisting of 4 changes of direction, with a pause between each 
lateral move. In the second instance, during mid-courtship, 7 
multiple zigzags occurred which included 1-3 changes of direction 
during each lateral stepping sequence; total elapsed time was about 
3 minutes. 
If the female is initially in and remains in a nest when the male is 
introduced into the petri dish, the male alternates palpation of the 
substrate with sequences of stridulation. Upon finding the nest 
sheltering the female, the male attempts to gain entrance by probing 
and pulling at the silk with his legs I, interspersing sequences of 
palpal vibration on the silk. (Note: other species of Phidippus 
known to use a tactile courtship vibrate their entire body). I could 
not determine the movement pattern of this palpal vibration (it 
