142 
Psyche 
[June 
tips touch in a circle above his head, P. coccineus keeps his forelegs 
in the same vertical plane while bringing them together; again, P. 
apacheanus is only 5 to 8 cm away from the female when he begins 
to dance, and hence performs less extensive side-to-side movements 
than does P. coccineus (or P. clarus) . There are also variations in 
the tempo of flicking the forelegs, and in the synchrony of the two 
forelegs, but further study is needed to sort out individual, drive- 
level, and species differences. 
As was previously noted, the adult apacheanus , coccineus , and 
opifex appear in the same habitat at different times, so that the time 
at which each species was courting did not overlap in the summer 
of 1964. However, adults of one species were kept in the laboratory 
until adults of the species succeeding them in the fields were collected. 
In the few relevant observations, the male courted the female of a 
different species as eagerly as his own (indeed, more eagerly if she 
were larger, as in the case of P. opifex females), while the female 
ran away or initiated hunting behavior as soon as she was released 
from the transparent vial. 
Hunting 
Method of observation 
Investigation of hunting behavior depends on techniques for con- 
trolling the hunger-level of the spider and the stimuli received from 
the prey. 
As would be expected of a predator notorious for withstanding 
long fasts, the three Phidippus spp. will molt, reproduce, and survive 
many months in the laboratory, whether offered prey daily, bi-weekly, 
or once a week. To control hunger-level, a behavioral criterion for 
satiation was used : the spider was presented with successive Droso- 
phila until it failed to accept a fly within 10 min. of its presentation. 
Hunting was then tested at a specifiable level of food deprivation; 
tests at 1, 7, and 12 days deprivation yielded considerable variation 
in the intensity of hunting behavior (Gardner, 1964). 
Explanation of Plate 10 
Figs. 17 - 18. Phidippus coccineus Peckham and Peckham. 17. Juvenile, 
total length 5 mm. The color is gray except for the abdomen. The abdomen 
dorsum has a white basal band and the reddish area is separated posterior 
by black bands broken by white spots. 18. Female, total length 10.5 mm. 
Both males and females are black with bright red dorsum of the abdomen 
and iridescent blue-green chelicerae. The longitudinal black stripe on the 
abdomen is more distinct in females. The males (not illustrated) have a 
mean total length of 9 mm. 
