‘i Pe ¥ pik rae RU AI Pik A Na me ve i } Hehe sad pad M Bela vt alte tae Vfl ante | hte Hye i ait t Me Seon Ae t rome iit uy nowy eb AA lee htly, oven We ETERS vy thea he {v r Je pe kA it 7 ij y piven tes ey: | i ae Fay , Hy meen it %, oe: ' ina , Ph ae as sh ay da 4 ‘ bet 1 Ad ait ese eLle vy We Mi! aul . » ANT TES J nie 2 TL ADI id oe rE ‘gaaifiing 6 ae aionies aL ea ts } ! ee t hid “)} yy fi MMERICAN SPIDERS AND ME, SPINNING WORK, == ———— —— NAO RA EIS TORY ORBWEAVING SPIDERS OF THE UNITED STATES WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO THEIR INDUSTRY AND HABITS. BY EREINIRY “€) McCOOks Di D., VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; : VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY ; AUTHOR OF “THE AGRICULTURAL ANTS OF TEXAS,” “THe HONEY AND OCCIDENT ANTS,” ETC., ETC. VO. it. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. A. D. 1890. et , i s Re veo, ufiiee ag ° eee" : + sts 4 a welt 06 mi cine hatred © Nae ah } , hiv ol HPet tit Gray " GF o~ " jhe igi _ * " ee ie 7 } pmaelley) nab . THE PRESS OF ALLEN, LANE & SCOTT, PHILADELPHIA. Mele iy ’ ‘vt, Sein pid ‘ae wh) ee ih webs . ho ue iy P bis 4acg: ay Hal it c 7 ’ 7 > it Pa PREFACH. Wits the completion of the second yolume of “American Spiders and their Spinningwork,” I feel that I have substantially ended the task which many years ago I proposed to myself. That task, as it lay in my pur- pose, was the description and illustration, in as large detail as possible, of the spinning industry and general habits of true spiders. Subsequently, as announced in the first volume of this work, my plan was so far modified as to make the spinningwork and habits of Orbweay- ers the principal theme, and to group around the same the industries of other spiders in such relations and proportions as seemed practicable. In the present volume I have adhered to this modified plan, but less closely than in the preceding one, having made large use of the natural history of other tribes than the Orbitelarie. It is probable that this volume will be more interesting than Volume I. both to the scientific and general public. It takes up the life history of spiders, and follows them literally from birth to death, from the cradle to the grave; more than that, it goes beyond the sphere of existing faunal life into the geologic periods, and touches upon the history and destiny of ancestral araneads who lived in the strange surroundings of prehistoric continents, the sites of which are embosomed in the rocks, or, like the amber forests, are now beneath the ocean. The courtship and mating of these solitary creatures; their maternal skill, devotion, and self sacrifice ; their cocoon life and babyhood; their youth and old age; their means of communion with the world around them; their voyages through the air and dens in the ground; their allies and enemies; their fashion of death and its strange disguises—these and other facts I have tried to bring be- fore the reader in the following pages. Moreover, my studies have necessarily brought me face to face with many of the interesting problems, theories, and speculations of modern science. I have had no pet theory to approve or oppose, and have not (3) 4 PREFACE. sought to marshal the facts in hand for or against this or that philoso- phy of life and its origin. Indeed, my aim has been to write a natural history, and not a philosophy thereof. Yet I have here and there alluded to matters with which current thinking has much to do. This fact may also tend to make this volume more generally interesting than the preced- ing or succeeding one. I have not found the difficulties of my task lessened, but rather in- creased in treating these features of the history. Spiders are solitary and secretive at the best, and these characteristics have reached their highest expression in those acts—cocooning, for example—with which a large part of Volume II. is concerned. It has thus been unusually difficult to secure a continuous authentic record of habits. Then, again, these studies have necessarily been only the recreations of a busy professional life, whose en- gagements have rapidly multiplied, and been more onerous and exacting in the last six years than ever before. These off labors have, therefore, continually receded or been suspended before the pressing and more se- rious obligations of duty. Nevertheless, I am glad to have done so much, and haye great satisfaction in the hope that others, stimulated by my labors, may’ pass on through the vestibule where I must stop, and explore the vast temple of aranead lore that lies beyond. I have spoken of my task as substantially completed. I do not forget that the Third Volume yet remains to be finished, and that it is the most costly and, in some respects, the most difficult of all. But much of the work thereon is already done, and I feel justified in finishing it in a more leisurely way. That volume, with the exception of two chapters, will be devoted to species work, and will present, as far as it seems to me neces- sary for identification, descriptions of the Orbweaying fauna of the United States. These will be illustrated by a number of lithographic plates, drawn in the best style of art and colored by hand from Nature. Plate IV. of the five colored plates in the present volume will best illustrate the character of those which are to follow. To the above I will add some species of other tribes whose habits have had especial notice in this work. I have now said all that I expect to make public of my observations of spider manners, with the exception of one chapter on General Habits, which I have reserved for the opening pages of Volume III, and, per- haps, a second chapter, which may be necessary for the explanation and enlargement of matters to which attention may be called by those who have followed me in the preceding studies. PREFACE, i) In these opening chapters of Volume III. I shall consider the toilet habits, manner of drinking, methods of burrowing, moulting and its con- sequences, prognostication of the weather, some of the superstitions associ- ated with spiders, spider silk and its commercial value, and some other points in the natural history of spiders not embraced in the preceding volumes. I again make my thankful acknowledgments of the assistance cordially given me by various friends and fellow laborers. Dr. George Marx, of Washington, has been especially helpful by generously placing at my dis- posal his entire collection of spider cocoons, and also by notes upon the habits of some of the species whose life history I have described. To Prof. Samuel H. Scudder I am indebted for various references and hints in pre- paring the chapter on Fossil Spiders, and for the use of his own publi- cations. Mrs. Mary Treat and Mrs. Rosa Smith Eigenmann have both helped me with valuable material sent by the one from the Atlantic coast, by the other from the Pacific. Hi. C:4Mc€; Toe Manse, PHILADELPHIA, July 3d, 1890. ; rs Lie) 7 7 ¢ 6 = ¢- Miwa te 80 apy) LJ hs i aie iety' : a ~s lis ah ce WW yeiryeeeut ati he nit Priiilieel “= ai ul ie Abii. OF CON TEN LS .0O8> VOLUME i: PART I.—COURTSHIP AND MATING OF SPIDERS. CHAPTER I. WOOING AND MATING OF ORBWEAVERS. PAGES The Mystery of Mating—The Male searching for his Mate—Males relatively Fewer— Males before Mating—Argiope cophinaria—Stages of Courtship—Aranead Lovers—A Lover’s Peril—Relative Sizes of Sexes—An unequally matched Couple—Nephila and Argiope—Sexes that live together—The Water Spider—Quarrels of Males—Fe- male Combativeness—Methods of Pairing among Orbweayvers—A Loye Bower. . 15-40 CHAPTER II. COURTSHIP AND PAIRING OF THE TRIBES. Love Dances of Saltigrades—Pairing of Linyphia marginata—The Period of Union—In- terruptions—Agalena neevia pairing—Loye beneath the Waters—Caressing—Pairing of Laterigrades—Lycosids—Loye Dances of the Saltigrades—Love Dances of Birds— Displays are to attract Females—A Saltigrade Harem—Color Development. . . . 41-60 CHAPTER III. COMPARATIVE VIEWS OF VARIOUS MATING HABITS. Value of general Habits—Value of spinning Habit—Maternity inspires Insect Archi- tecture—Spider Industry influenced by Maternity—By sexual Feeling in Males— Disproportion of Size in Sexes—Sexes of equal Sizes—Numerical Proportion of Sexes—Relative Activity of Sexes—Spermatozoa—Agamic Reproduction . . . . . 61-74 PART IIL—MATERNAL INDUSTRY AND INSTINCTS. CHAPTER IV. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. Cocooning Sites—Argiope’s Cocoons—Leafy Canopies—Contents of Cocoons—The Egg Mass—Argiope cophinaria—Epeira Cocoons—Cocooning Tents—Cocoons of Zilla— Cocoon of Nephila—Gasteracantha—Spiders with several Cocoons—Tetragnatha extensa—Cyrtarachne’s Cocoon—The Cocoon String of Labyrinthea—Cyclosa_bi- furca—Basilica Spider’s Cocoon—Plumefoot Spider's Cocoon—Uloborus—Double Co- COOMIN SPINS ATOTODCI MIs ray a reaiaae Wt os CoRR Ee cL an Sate es med yi DlO LO) (7) 40339 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. PAGE Cocoons of Theridium—Argyrodes trigonum—Cocoons of Ero—Theridium frondeum or 4 Theridiosoma radiosum ?—Cocoons in Nests—Carrying Cocoons in Jaws—Pholeus— Upholstered Cocoon of Agalena—Medicinal Spider—The Water Spider’s Cocoon— The Parson Spider—Brooding Cocoons—Mud plastered Cocoons—Cocooning Nest of an English Drassid—Cocoons in Tubes—Segestria canities and her Cocoons—Dic- tyna philoteichous—Cocoons of the Territelariz—Trapdoor Spiders—Cocoon of the Tarantula—Lycosa carrying her Cocoon—The Leaf thatched Cocoon Nest of Dolo- medes—Pucetia aurora—Nesting Cocoons of Saltigrades—Cocoons of Laterigrades— The Huntsman Spider and her Egg Cradle—Cave Spiders—Origin of Cave Fauna— IDES Os CEN GAIL 4g io GeBeh ub o Oeendse Soe. 6 a 4 coro @ ofc oop 4 ov o Jilin CHAPTER VI. COMPARATIVE COCOONING INDUSTRY. How Argiope weaves her Cocoon—Use of the Legs in Spinning—Equalizing the Output of Thread—Epeira’s Method—Weaving a Cocoon—Theridium—Agalena nzevia— Beating down the Thread—General Spinning Method—Composition of Cocoons— How Cocoons are disposed of—Protection of Cocoons—Cocoon Forms—Variety and Complexity—Numiber ofsCocoons) = yeni) -tetaie) ue ceeit een een. eee Loo Lii7 CHAPTER VII. MATERNAL INSTINCTS: MOTHERHOOD. Cocoon Sites—Feeding Limits—Secreting Cocoons—Night Cocooning—Ovipositing—Cali- fornia Trapdoor Spider’s Eggs—Shape of Cocoon—Maternity and Cocoon Structure— Complexity and Maternal Care—Cocoon Vigils—Multifold Cocooning—Number of Eggs—Fertility and Exposure—The Mother Turret Spider—The Watch of Dolo- medes—British Spiders—Special Cases of Mother Care—Feeding the Young—Per- sonal Care of Young—The Spiderlings—Strength of Maternal Feeling—Mistakes of Mothers—Unintelligent Instinct—Intuitive Skill—Marks of Forethought—The Mud Cradle Maker—Man’s Method and the Spider’s ...............- . 178-205 PART III.—EARLY LIFE AND DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES. CHAPTER VIII. COCOON LIFE AND BABYHOOD. Adult and Young—Period of Hatching—First Moult—Cocoon Cannibalism—Escape from the Cocoon—Delivery by Birds—By Mother Aid—First Days of Outdoor Life—Gre- garious Habit—Movement Upward—A Tented Colony—Dispersions—The Children of the Spider Web—Mortality among Spiderlings—Assembly of Spiderlings—Bridge and Tent Making—A Cantonment and Tower—Argiope aurelia and her Young— Spider Communities—Spider Colonies—Darwin’s View Examined—dAccidental As- semblage—Squatter Sovereignty—A Cellar Colony—A Camp of Juveniles—Young Water Spiders—The Spiderlings Pick-a-back—The Turret Spider’s Young—A young Tower Builder—Follow the Leader—The Young of Atypus—Nurture in the Nest— Young Tarantulas—Young Trapdoor Builders—Nest Development—Marvels of In- stinect—Dew covered Webs—Character Habits Innate .......... .. + 206-250 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 CHAPTER IX. AERONAUTIC OR BALLOONING HABIT. Flying Spiders—Velocity of Flight—Attitude of the Aeronautic Spider—Frolicsome Spans derlings—In the Air—Controlling the Descent—The Height of Ascents—Floating Gossamer—Aeronautic Orbweavers—Flossy Balloons—Modes of Ballooning— Puare V.—Some Hymenoprerous ENEMIES OF SPIDERS. Facing page 368. See Chapter XIII., page 383, sq. <0 beh! 4 die bm gree Par a \ 7 ep ees i a : te! oi. 4 . a Serna ey i ——- 27 ie . A re agree! aa : ; 7 6 why FiPaag 6 mi lea a \0 i ’ , ra - we iv? f eb - ] 7 i - 2s “, < 7 Se wh i s 4 « a : i anh “Tela ia) a i" CONTENTS OF VOLUME TL. PART I—GENERAL HABITS AND SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. Toilet Habits—Toilet Implements—Toilet Methods—Hair-dressing the Feet—The Tarantula’s Toilet—Compared with Ants—House Cleaning—Working from a Swinging Platform— Peril of Untidiness—Purseweb Spider's Cleanliness—Drinking Habits—Tarantula at the Bowl—Lugging Drops of Mist—Drinking the Dew—Swaying the Body—Pholcus as a Dervish—Night Habits—Prowling—Sitting in the Hub—Water Habits—Rafting Dolo- medes—Burrowing Methods—The Tiger Spider—Turret Spider—Tarantula’s Pick and Wheelbarrow—Tigrina’s Courtship—Mating of Dictyna philoteichous—Moulting Habits in yarious Tribes—Wagner’s Notes—Renewal of Lost Limbs—The Process Described— Weather Prognostication—Stories and Traditions—Records of Several Years—Arachne as a Weather “Indicator”—Superstitions about Spiders—Good Luck— Money-spinners—Spi- der Silk—Its Use in the Arts—Its Economical Value. PART II—DESCRIPTION OF ORBWEAVING SPECIES. PART III.—COLORED LITHOGRAPHIC PLATES AND EXPLANATIONS, ’ 7 we r *) - fii 1p ce gous it = oO \z) IBRARY ]=5 -\ a f'3 “a f i / “4 VAS? ®, é ~~ 4H) » ee Pak COURTSHIE AND? MATING OF SPIDERS: CHEAP ER, Ir WOOING AND MATING OF ORBWEAVERS. Me THRE is nothing in the life history of spiders that seems to me more mysterious and wonderful than the faculty by which the male finds the female to fulfill his office in Nature and fertilize the eggs. Over all difti- culties and distance, through the midst often of a multitude of individuals of various families and genera, and with apparently unfailing accuracy, the males of the several species find their appropriate mates. It is impossible to determine definitely how wide is the circuit over which is scattered any single brood of spiderlings after its exode from the cocoon. Circumstances may confine all the individuals to a comparatively narrow space. More commonly, perhaps, through the aeronautic habit, by the agency of passing winds, they are dispersed throughout a wide region. Under ordinary circumstances, at least, the space is practically impassible by spiders whose habits are as sedentary as those of Orbweavers. Yet such is the power of the marital sense, and so strong and true the guidance of sexual feeling, that, over all barriers of environment the male reaches his proper consort. As far as I know, he never makes a mistake by falling upon the web of an alien species. At all events, if such error occurs, he knows enough to promptly turn away. The partner whom the Orbweaver gallant seeks is commonly seated in a well isolated nest, or at the hub of her snare, separated by a distance of several inches from him as he travels over the leaves, twigs, and The : other material upon which the foundations of the orb are hung. ee (See Fig. 1.) The errant lover’s difficulty in finding a mate must His Mate, certainly be increased by this fact, for in his cautious approaches he is not able to draw very near, but must determine through a distance relatively great the question of identity: “Is this a partner of my species or not?” He touches the outer foundation line of the orb, and determines the question from that position. If he is satisfied, he settles near or upon the web, and awaits the issue of his courtship. And now, how has he determined, simply from contact with the snare spun by his chosen spouse, that this is the individual whom he seeks? (15) The Mys- tery of Mating. 16 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. What trace has the female left of her identity? By what subtle influence does she attract her wooer to settle in her vicinity? By what strange responsive power does he know the signs, and discern that his mate and the mating hour are nigh? ‘There is no fact in the life of spiders that has struck me with greater force as an unsolved mystery of Nature than this. I have no suggestions to offer in answer of the queries raised, but proceed to give such facts about the pairmg of spiders as have passed under my observation, and been gathered from the records of others. To arachnologists such studies are of special value. In the systematic grouping of spiders, among the characters to which later students give greatest force are the distinctive organs of the male and female. The characters of the palp on the one, and the epigynum on the other, dom- inate the decisions by which species are determined. It is certainly reason- able to infer that if the external forms of these organs are of such con- trolling value in determining species,-the use of the organs, or, in other words, the manner of pairing, might be expected to show characteristic differences. In point of fact we so find it; and the reader will be able to determine how closely the one may correspond with the other. I venture to add the suggestion that habits which stand at the very gates of life must have especial value in the natural history of such creatures as we are studying, and no artificial delicacy should turn aside the student. It seems probable that fewer male spiders than females are hatched from the eggs; or, that fewer reach the adult state. At least, one finds not only in collections, but in field observations, that females Males commonly greatly outnumber males. It would follow that one eee male spider probably serves as gallant for several females, a Fewer. ‘Species of polygamy which reminds us of the barnyard chanti- cleer. This fact, as has been said,! would indicate that the peril which an aranead husband is commonly supposed to undergo during courtship has been considerably exaggerated by writers. According to De Geer, in his observation upon Linyphia montana, a single male suffices for many females, to whom he pays his respects consecutively in the same hour.2 Mr. Campbell saw one male in union with three females of Tege- naria guyonii during twenty days in August.? Professor Peckham records similar facts among the Saltigrades. Thorell speaks of the male as “the rarer sex,’* and Darwin was informed by Blackwall that males are more numerous than females with a few species, but that the reverse appears to be the case out of several species in six genera. On the other hand, Mr. Campbell captured ten spiderlings of 'Tegenaria and found that seven of them showed the swollen palps of the immature male.® ' Emile Blanchard, quoted from Reyue des Deux Mondes in “ Popular Science,” Octo- ber, 1888. 2 Vide Walck., Aptéres, Vol. IL, page 411, suppl. ’ Linn. Soc. Jour. Zool., Vol. XVII., “ Pairing of Tegenaria guyonii,” page 167. *“On European Spiders,” page 205. ° “Pairing of Teg. guyonii,’ page 168. WOOING AND MATING. il od Fic. 1. i pt (dell Snare and nest of the Shamrock spider. The orb, nest, and surroundings show the field of courtship among Epeiroids. 18 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. It is perhaps not strange that there should be such wide differences of opinion, since the conclusions are based chiefly upon the indications of collections. Now, in Nature, the males show themselves in great- eae est numbers at the pairing period. They appear to mature a Mating. little earlier than the females, and their solicitations have begun even before there is reasonable hope for fayorable response. Thus, at this particular time they may be found by a collector more readily than at any other, and would show in larger numbers in his col- lection. As most males disap- pear shortly after maturing, and are probably not long lived, while the female survives until after cocooning, collections made after the mating time would be lack- ing in males. I have seen four males of the Banded and three of the Bas- ket Argiope respective- ly hanging at the same time upon the margin of one female’s snare. I have observed two and three males of the Labyrinth spider waiting in the outer courts of the habitation of the female of that species, and the same number of the Insular spider ranged near the leafy bow- er of my lady Insularis. I have seen two males of Agalena neevia approaching at one time the door m of their lady’s silken chamber, | ie although it must be said that one of them promptly ran away when he found that his rival had come nearer than he. It is not unlikely that many females deposit their eggs without previous fertilizing; at all events, I have frequently found cocoons containing infertile eggs. But in the long run, in view of such facts as the above, it is scarcely to be questioned that Nature, who always knows how to hold an eyen balance in the product of her living creatures, pro- vides a master for every mate. Several Gallants. me > Fic. 2, Males of Argiope cophinaria courting the female. iD The males of Argiope begin to mature about the middle of July, and they anticipate somewhat the maturity of the female. They may be found WOOING AND MATING. 19 at this period occasionally occupying separate webs, but more frequently domesticated upon the orb of the female, upon which several will be found congregated. For example, in a clump of grasses I found the ae aa web of an apparently mature female, to whom three males were ourtshi : c : of Aret- P paying attention. Two of the males were established upon the ope. outer margins of the female’s snare, upon small rudimentary webs. The third had built a separate snare immediately behind the female. There he hung in the usual position at the hub, which was covered with light straggling lines, a kind of imitation of the ordinary shield. Above and below were two faint, irregularly formed ribbons, mere suggestions of the beautiful ribbon spun by the female. This snare had about twenty-one radii and twelve or , | thirteen spirals beaded apparently in the ordinary way. The web was about four inches in length and about two inches wide. On the same day several males were found on separate webs. These webs are ordinarily quite ru- Sek Ke dimentary. In one the upper giope. part consisted principally of a mass of straggling lines somewhat resembling a shield of the female when it is first spun. The lower part had ten radii concentrated upon the hub and all of them crossed by beaded interradials. The occupant hung to the upper part of his snare and stretched his legs over the lower part. The snare in width was little greater than the spider’s length meas- ured from the tip of the hind legs to the feet of the fore legs. In other words, he spanned his entire web. Another and similar male snare was found spun into the protective wings of a mature female snare. ZZz#7>zL VE = Z =S —¥F “ZF Fw ° _ A =. Z &LLZB = = ~, ——22 es — Mc“: Ss Z =. > SSS | = Z Wi S = \ Z Ay) > ES —a= Er SN Boy 4 / ——s SSS ——— & ZEEE =~ —— == = S_ a nth SSS z : Se Ss ey SS EEE LS ae Se aaa SSS SSS ——— es LEE WN S22 ES SS SE —— ee SSESERQR = L£SEBEEES SSS 2N\> SS} AZ \ GY SSS SS Fa —— SSSR :239 RACES SSS SS SESS Se SS SS SS SSS SKA $i S88 ESSE DNS SS SS VE ZZ SSS = Se ——— ==> Ss SS 2B ZW SS => S S SS EE Ee Fic. 14. Argiope cophinaria embracing the female. Snare and figures abou ize. The male is seen in part just under the abdomen. life size 38 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. the border of the box and in the act of pairing. But the male, forthwith frightened, quitted his hold and ran rapidly away. The female, on the contrary, remained motionless. The observer captured the two and placed them in a covered glass bottle with the nest which the female had temporarily abandoned to meet her partner. He also introduced into the bottle living flies. During three days the mates ceased not to caress each other. The female did not return to her nest, but kept below in a reversed position. The male approached her from the side, with head elevated, stretched out his feet and spread them gently and slowly upon the back of the abdomen of the female, sometimes touching the fore feet with his own by a slight and very quick movement. Then the female leaned to one side, in such a way as to expose her venter, against which the male stretched his palps, and the union took place by means of the palps. It was between 5 and 6 A. M. when this act occurred, and it was repeated many times. During the remainder of the day the couple remained separate. The female rested in the same place almost wholly motionless, without doing anything. The male, more lively, more wandering, more active, constructed a little web, placed himself in the mid- dle and caught some flies. Again, he sometimes promenaded the glass, stretching threads; but always after this momentary absence he returned to a position in front of his spouse, appearing to contemplate her, laid his feet against her own, his head vis-A-vis with her head, in a reversed po- sition. Finally the female constructed a tube of silk, within which she retired. The male penetrated this; the tube was large enough to contain the two; and they remained therein for ten days in perfect harmony, with- out attempting to issue from their love bower. During all this time the female continued to rest wholly tranquil, and did not attempt to escape. It was not so, however, with the male, who frequently wandered abroad into the bottle. The two did not attempt to make orbic- ular webs, but stretched irregular lines, upon which they caught flies, a fact which shows that spiders are able to adapt themselves and their industry to various circumstances. On the twelfth day, October 4th, the female Apo- clisa became invisible, and it was observed that she had returned to her original nest, first built at the top of the reed. The tube was abandoned by her and remained vacant. The male did not attempt to rejoin his com- panion, but wandered about the glass, occupied in seeking an opportunity to escape therefrom. At this point Baron Walckenaer was compelled to interrupt his observation.? I make the following summary of the various stages as above described: First, the female comes out to meet the male; second, she hangs below a few stretched lines, with her back downward; third, the male touches her Pairing of Eipeira apoclisa. A Love Bower. 1 Walckenaer, Apteéres, Vol. II., pages 63, 64. WOOING AND MATING, 39 back and feet; fourth, the male palpal bulbs are applied many times to the epigynum ; fifth, the embrace ceases, the female remains stationary in the same place, the male wanders about, makes a straggling web and raed catches flies ; sixth, the mate comes before the female, touches her ~ feet, and remains vis-a-vis; seventh, the female makes a tube and enters it; eighth, the male penetrates the tube; ninth, the pair remain for ten days domiciled within this bower, the female staying persistently within, the male making frequent excursions; tenth, on the twelfth day the female leaves the tubular bower and returns to her leafy nest; elev- enth, the male makes no attempt to follow her, but wanders around the bottle, seeking to escape. At this point observation ended, but there was probably nothing further to observe. Zilla callophylla is lacking in ferocity, and lives on good terms with Fic. 15. Fic. 16. Fic. 17. Argyroepeira hortorum. Fig. 15, male; Fig. 16, female; Fig. 17, the male palps, much enlarged. (After Emerton.) her mate. September 30th a male and female of this species were taken by Walckenaer, and placed in a glass bottle. The male, after the ordinary preliminary caresses, such as touching with the ex- tended feet, stretched some threads in the manner of those which served the female to descend from the top of the bottle to the bottom, where he was. Then, by the movement of her feet, she excited her spouse to approach her. Every part of the male’s body trembled in a sensible man- ner. He advanced towards his mate, not without appearance of fear, since she received him with open mandibles. Three times he essayed, always while advancing, to introduce the genital organ of one of his palps into the vulva of the female, and he succeeded at the fourth attempt with the digital bulb of his left palp. Then was manifest in the male, as in the female, a convulsive trembling of all the limbs and of all parts of the body, which evidently announced that the union was accomplished. Four Zilla cal- lophylla. 40 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. other movements of the same nature, separated only by very short inter- vals, followed the first. After these five acts of union the male retired to a short distance. About half a minute afterwards he approached as on the first occasion, introduced the bulb of his right palp into the epigynum of the -female; then, after the fifth movement of convulsive trembling, he again retired. He continued in this manner during the space of twenty minutes. In these twenty minutes he made thirteen embraces, or thirteen introductions of the digital bulb of one of his palps into the vulva of his partner. After these acts the male retired and went away. The female rested for about a half hour in the same position, as if she awaited the return of the male, who did not come back. Then she decided to remount to the top of the bottle. ! 1 Walckenaer, Apt., Vol. II., pages 71, 72. CHAP TER TT: COURTSHIP AND PAIRING OF THE TRIBES: LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. Havine thus considered the methods of pairing which prevail among Orbweavers, we may note some of the modes which obtain among repre- sentatives of other aranead tribes. I On the afternoon of June 14th! I witnessed the pairing of a male and female of Linyphia marginata. The spiders were first observed at a quarter before four o’clock. They were hanging inverted in the Line- dome shaped nest of the species, in line with each other and weavers: about three-quarters of an inch apart. Each hung within a Linyphia : : - : E . one smaller dome which was formed by the outspread feet drawing ahi down the inner surface of the snare. The nest was hung from the under surface of a plank that jutted over from a pile of lumber, and was about two and a half feet from the ground; so that, seated before the nest, my face was on a level with the spiders. The male cautiously extended one foot towards the female, and pulled upon the intervening threads. I turned a moment to adjust the block on which I sat, and, on looking again, the two were in embrace. The female was suspended as before, although turned at right angles to her first position. The male’s head was laid against the sternum of the female, his abdomen inclined a little upward, the fore legs interlocked with, or, rather, interlaid upon those of the female. Both spiders hung by threads, in the normal way. (Fig. 18.2) This was nine minutes be- fore 4 P. M. After a moment’s embrace the pair separated; the female made a cir- cuit of the lower part of the dome, moving in an excited, jerking manner, then returned to the summit. The male approached, the female stretching out her fore legs somewhat as he laid his fore legs within them, which po- sition was maintained, as was the relative position of the two, during the entire period of union. The female, during the act, remained perfectly motionless, except an occasional twitching of the apex of the abdomen. The two terminal bulbs upon the male palps were laid upon the epigy- num of the female, and pressed downward. From one of these issued the 1 The same species was again seen pairing in August, in Connecticut. 2 Drawn by Mr. J. H. Emerton for this work. (41) 42 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. palpal sac, a bean shaped organ, of a bright amber color, and translucent, which shone brilliantly in the sun that fell full upon it from the west. It remained thus projected for a brief space, held between the finger like tufted horn of the palpal bulb, and was then gradually contracted and withdrawn within the black corneous bulb, which was meanwhile pressed eagerly against the vulva. A small elbow or projection upon the upper Use of part of the bulb seemed to press within the spermatheca. The two bulbs were laid simultaneously upon the epigynum, but the inflated palpal sac appeared in but one bulb at a time, alter- nately. There was a prolonged squeezing motion of the bulbs, as though iil i! Vy ack iV i) wc ng My ay iM uf ‘i Me “€ eeu Uae i || A \\)) IK ve mM) Ny «i h Wie HW eu vaca ANN \ a i i hi ee 7 i" I ay ae Oe ant ss wh it i ij 3 I at co We relic i soul i, a Vy ey a Afi ill ri i NA che Me big ‘iN t i) \ a ee mK in bo AN Wil oN om ps =~: init yy “ily Pads ite i Ae I SF Iie CAN Tayo Ke Wy (All I! “AN TN We q All WW we SNe ob aie WA is AK ‘i iN Mf NNO ay oie Say nl i i ei i iN la ii Sse vo mL al ya Aah mee ii on nN ip Ale ARK i) by, Wes i | ns "/ “Mi iN I) fi ATR fi) SIZ ] ify ie | we a ee a loan vy ue Wes ‘One o Miah NOG ; mil yi H)) Ht Nl My) It i Ii \) H NK Y M\ NI Yj i sy mn ven me me LAN au ai NZ Fic. 18. Pairing of Linyphia marginata. The figures much enlarged. The little dome caused by the pulling down of the feet is represented, and a part of the snare proper. pressing into the spermatheca, and at times a corresponding motion in the abdomen of the female, especially at the apex. With this exception the female remained motionless during the whole period. After applica- tion as above the palpal bulb was slowly, for the most part, but sometimes rapidly raised by the male, bent upward, and ap- parently clasped upon the falces or lower margin of his face, which parts of course were upward. Three or four movements back and forth in this clinched position followed, when the series of motions above described was repeated. Biting the Bulbs. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 43 In the meanwhile the second bulb remained upon the other tube until the first bulb began to descend, when it in turn was elevated and the same motion made. As the bulb descended, its sac began to inflate and issue. This process was quite regularly repeated. Sometimes, however, both bulbs were clinched upon the falces at the same time; sometimes the movements of the bulb were more rapid than at others. The bulbs had the appearance of having been moistened by some secretion, presenting the peculiar gloss which a colorless liquid gives to a black surface, but I could see no secretion otherwise, although I was able at any time to use my pocket lens with the exercise of a little care.! At twenty minutes before six o’clock I was compelled to leave, at which time the pair had been in embrace one hour and forty-nine minutes. At six o'clock twenty-eight minutes I returned, and found the pair in precisely the same positions. I remained five minutes, and then ‘left an intelligent young man at the post, with full instructions as to points of observation. He reported that at thirteen and a half minutes past seven, afternoon, the pair parted suddenly. The male ran down to the lower margin of the dome, pursued by the female, who stopped suddenly just above, and turned back to the central point in the summit. Shortly after receiving this report I visited the web, and found the female sus- pended motionless in this position, and the male at the point to which he had fled, feeding upon a small fly. The next morning at seven o’clock the female was in the same position, and the male had disappeared. I attempted to capture the female, but she ran among the boards and escaped. The pair had thus been in union two hours and fifty-five and a half minutes. During this period they were separated a number of times. Nineteen of these interruptions were noted; one was caused by a small fly striking the snare, at which the male darted in a fierce manner, but Interrup- failed to seize, as the fly broke loose before he reached it. Others Period of Union tions an Se: were caused by the observer touching the foundation threads or rae other parts of the web. Toward the close of my observations I accidentally broke the suspending lines nearest me, and caused one side of the dome to fall in. This made only a momentary interrup- tion. Many of these separations were, however, apparently without any extraneous cause. Twice the male ran to one side of the domed snare, made a web at- tachment to a bit of leaf hanging therein, drew out a thread about two and a half inches long, which he overlaid a couple of times, and then made the following motion: First, the body was placed erect, that is, back upwards, and was moved back and forth along the line, rubbing the points or “nippers” of the palps at the same time; then the spider swung over 17 did not at the Ee suneee that the palpal bulb “sein have been applied to the ab- dominal organ of the male, and did not look for this act. But subsequently I have imagined that such might have been the case. 44 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. until the body made an angle of about forty-five degrees with the line, and while holding on thus the palps were rubbed back and forth alter- nately along the line as before. The process was repeated during another of the intermissions, as described above. It was conjectured that the pur- pose of this movement might have been the distribution of the seminal fluid into the palpal bulbs. It has been supposed that this is taken up by the sacs, by the inflation and contraction of whose membraneous coats it is forced into the spermathecze of the female. Mr. Emerton! observed the pairing of the male and female of Steatoda borealis in April, and again in May. The female was in a scant web under a fence cap. The pair stood head to head, as far apart as pos- sible. The left palpus was kept in an hour and a quarter after the couple were first seen. The male contracted his body sud- denly, and swelled up the base of the palpal organ once every two or three seconds. Two days afterwards Emerton saw the right palpus used by the same pair for an hour. The adult males and females of this species occur at all seasons, differing in this respect from many others. Steatoda borealis. Tie Among the Tubeweavers I have observed the pairing of our common Speckled Agalena. The male cautiously approaches over the broad sheeted Fic. 19. Agalena nevia pairing. Fic. 20. Agalena nevia applying Fic. 21. Agalena applying the Front view. (After Emerton.) the right palp in pairing. left palp in pairing. web which forms a sort of front yard or plaza before the tube in which the female waits. He is usually larger than the female, and is, therefore, better able to compel a respectful reception. In the act of union Tube- F P 5 : ; be he takes his partner in his mandibles, turns her upon one side 5] Pp ) weavers: . : a : : 3 Agalena, 12 which position she lies perfectly motionless, and with her legs somewhat doubled together, as in the attitude of feigning death. (Fig. 19) The male rests upon the side of the female, in a posi- tion nearly at right angles with her prostrate body, and, while holding her still with his fore feet, applies the palps alternately to the vulva. (See Figs. 20, 21.) 1 New England Theridide, Trans. Acad. Conn., 1882, page 19. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 45 According to Walckenaer, the union of the male and female of the European Agalena labyrinthea takes place in the tube which serves as the dwelling place for the female. In France this act occurs about moe the middle of July. The female turns herself upon her side, al- rinthea, most upon the broad of her back. The male places himself upon her in such a position as to hide from the observer his head and cephalothorax.! It will thus be seen that the method entirely corresponds with that of our own Agalena neevia, which this familar Eu- ropean spider so closely resembles. The male of Clubiona constructs a web for union with the female, and prepares, as one may say, the marriage couch, to which he admits the female when the propitious moment has come.’ The interesting habits of Argyroneta aquatica, the well known Water spider of Europe, were first fully made known by De Lignac, a priest of the Oratoire, Paris, A. D. 1748.° He not only observed the man- ees. ner of making the nest beneath the water (Fig. 22), which has Spider, been frequently confirmed since, but also the act of pairing. When the male wishes to pair, says De Lignac, he constructs near the nest of the female, and by the same means, a nest resembling that of his spouse; but the nest is somewhat smaller. When the male has completed the construction of his domicile, he makes a long canal, which joins his cell to that of his spouse. He then cuts through the wall of the latter, and introduces his body into the strange apartment. This vehicle of communication being made, he strengthens it on the roof and_ sides. He plasters this, as he does the rest of his nest, with silk, white and im- permeable, and thus extends this corridor until it may be as The pies) ae @ BYR a Rlaavasinace seed a yh Lover's l2Tge as the two apartments. Sometimes one sees, but only oc Corridor, Casionally, as many as three lodges, which communicate with each other. As these cells have been thus easily united, they also sometimes separate, as, for example, when they are too lightly united, or by the movements of the spiders when they engage in combats, for it ap- pears that during the time of amour they are somewhat irascible. Often- times one sees a strange spider making an effort to enter into one of these lodges; but the inmate, who keeps its feet outside, guards, as a watchful sentinel, the safety of its domicile, and drives the intruder from the door. Baron Walckenaer confirmed these observations of De Lignac and added some interesting details. On the 27th of July he placed together Walck- in glass vessels males and females of Argyroneta. On the fol- Bae lowing day he saw in one of the silken bells woven by them a Roa male caressing the female with his feet, and carrying his palps to her abdomen. The two spiders were then upon the same line, 1 Aptéres, Vol. II., page 22. 2 Walck., I. Apt., page 143. ’ L’/Histoire des Araignées Aquatiques, page 43. De Geer in Holland as early as 1736 had observed the curious industry of the Water spiders. 46 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. and stood face to face. The male carried his head under the body of his mate in a reversed position. He stepped aside, and the female with- her feet tickled the apex of his abdomen. The next day at 6 A.M. he saw a little web constructed by one of his Argyronetas. He gradually filled the bottle with fresh water, whereupon the couple began to work with extraordinary activity, and in less than an hour’s time had formed a cell which looked like a bubble of air and had the form of a subterranean vault. The male and female kept together. As soon as the cell was finished, and on the same morning, the female made a web at the surface of the plant which had been in- troduced into the bell glass. Much to the baron’s sur- prise, she immediately de- posited her eggs and envel- oped them in a silken co- coon. The cocoon was placed near the surface of the water, and upon the very walls of the vessel. The eggs, which were of a beautiful orange yellow, could be seen through the fine, white tissue of the cocoon. July 29th, at six o’clock morning, Walckenaer saw the female near her eggs; then she ascended to the surface and dived. The male joined himself to his companion. The two spiders gently rub- Fic. 22. The subaqueous nest of the Water spider, Argyroneta bed the extremities of their aquatica, within which the cocoon is woven. anterior feet one against the other, having the air of ca- ressing. Soon this movement of the feet became more brusque and ap- peared menacing. The male, struck by the feet of the female, suddenly leaped aside, but the pair presently sought each other anew. They interlaced their legs, the one within another, and gradually approached nearer and nearer, head against head. The man- dibles were opened; they flung themselyes one upon another; afterwards recoiled, separated instantly, and sprang aside as if they had suddenly been seized with fear. Thereupon the female returned to her position near her eggs. The Cocoon. yansames Caress- ing. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. AT The next day Walckenaer renewed the water in the vessels, and saw the couple approach one another, lightly touch their feet, swim without stretch- ing out any thread and without touching the insects which had been placed in the water for them, but which were all dead. At five o’clock in the evening again the observer saw the male and female upon the cocoon, drawn near together, the feet interlaced and mo- tionless. On opening the bottle they separated. He was then astonished to observe that the web that had surrounded the cocoon had disappeared. Had it been employed to strengthen the cocoon? The cocoon was a silken flask, attached to a plant by a short pedicle. It was in part immersed within the water. It was rounded, flat- tened, about three lines in diameter, was formed of a fine thread of a very compact tissue, thin as an onion peel, and difficult to tear. It contained forty eggs, not agglutinated, globular, of a pale yel- low color. On the first of April Walckenaer again observed in the jar where the spiders were confined a little bubble of air and a web larger than the former had been. After five days’ absence, April 6th he observed that the spiders had detached the cocoon, in order to sink it to the bottom of the bottle. The water was changed in the vessel and immediately they swam about with delight, refreshed themselves, reunited near the cocoon, and caressed each other with their feet. On the 7th of April he decanted the water of the jar into a cistern. The Argyronetas, troubled by the sudden movement of the flood, swam with great rapidity, and the female having recovered her cocoon in the midst of the water, seized it, embraced it with her feet and sought to buoy it up. One of the most interesting and satisfactory accounts of the act of pair- ing among Tubeweavers is given by Mr. Campbell from observations on _ Tegenaria guyonii.! The male was placed in a bottle contain- pales ing a female which had been mature for a fortnight. He was left within the vessel in which he had been lodged, but the cover was removed therefrom. Notwithstanding the glass wall which sep- arated him from the female, he soon became conscious of her presence, and issuing from his own quarters approached her. The following morn- ing he was standing with the first pair of legs over the female, and his maxille resting on her abdomen, while she was crouching motion- less, with her head in an opposite direction. Both were in Embrac- ing. The Cocoon. mee ; the same position the next morning, August 7th, 7 A. M. At ee °* 10 A. M. the male became restless, and wandered about the bottle with spinnerets extended, returning every now and then to place his palps upon the female. After each action he jerked his abdomen 10n the Pairing of Tegenaria guyonii Guer., with a Description of certain Organs in the Abdominal Sexual Region of the Male. By F. Maule Campbell, F. L. 8. Linn. Soe. Jour. Zool., Vol. XVI., page 163. 48 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. upwards and downwards, a movement which often may be observed in males, and which gives an idea of an expression of impatience. The next observation, after a few minutes’ absence, showed the male about two inches behind the female, standing as it were on tiptoe. His palps were placed alternately and nervously to his maxille. On their re- moval the whole body was raised still higher, and the abdomen brought nearly to a right angle with the cephalothorax, with con- siderable muscular effort in the basal portion, and with violent tremulations. The movements, which were repeated four times, had the effect of throwing the spider slightly forward, while the palps were shaken in that peculiar manner which denotes great muscular tension in some other part than that in visible motion. The palps were now gener- ally alternately placed under the sternum and moyed backward and forward, upward and downward, with a scooping motion. In five minutes these move- ments of the abdomen and palps were repeated ten times in regular succes- sion, only varied by an occasional transfer of the digital organs to the mouth, Mr. Campbell observed thirteen couples pairing in confinement from the middle of July to the end of August; and the following account may be taken as typical of the species, with the exception that the union does not necessarily occur so quickly after the female has gained maturity. On the 13th of August he placed together a male and female. On the 17th the latter cast her last skin. Up to that time, 6 A. M., they had taken no notice of one another. At 9.45 P. M. the two were so close together that the femora of the first pair of legs of each were almost in contact. After a few convulsive twitches of the legs the male pressed forward, moving his palps up and down, when, as they touched the palps of the female, the pair played with these organs like two friendly bees with their antenne. After a few minutes the female raised herself, leaning a little on her left side, and the male crept forward until his head yas under the sternum of his mate, while his first pair of legs were rest- ing upon hers. He then advanced his right palp, leaning a little to the left, and using the left palp as part of his support. The male now rapidly raised his palps up and down for four or more seconds, and with such energy as to compel the female to assume a verti- cal position. He then retired, and again approached her, repeat- ing the movements a greater or less number of times, occasion- ally pausing before he withdrew his palps with a slight twist inwards. At times he would leave the female for five minutes, and strut with straightened legs around the vase, wagging his abdomen. Now and then he would remain perfectly still with the palp withdrawn, or play with the palps of the female, who seemed in a comatose state. He would then re- new the union with undiminished vigor, appearing on each occasion less desirous of changing his position. Use of Palps. Ap- proaches, Use of Palps. PLATE COLORS OF EPEIRA TRIFOLIUM. 1—9, VARIATIONS IN COLOR OF FEMALES. 10-11, THE MALE. PAIRING OF SPIDERS. 49 The observer left them at 12.30 A. M. and returned at 7 A. M. The male was still using his right palp. He saw no application of the left palp, but had no doubt that it was employed during the night, as in other cases. He had never observed the pairing interrupted for a fresh collection of semen, although there is no reason to think that this may not occur. The duration of the pairing is long, but he was inclined to think it is more dependent on the difficulty in inserting the embolos than on sexual endurance, Impreg- nation. INGE. The pairing of Xysticus trivittata Keyserling has been briefly described by Mr. Emerton, and figured.1 The spiders were seen on the 5th of June among the short grass in an open pasture in New England. The female held herself head downward on a blade of Pairing Of sass, with the abdomen turned paar away only enough for the male grades. k ? : to reach under it with his palps. There did not appear to have been any web on the grass, though there may have been a few threads for the female to hold by. Among Lycosids we have the descrip- tion given by one of the earliest natural- ists, Clerck, the Swedish observer.2 He saw the pairing of Lycosa_sac- cata about the middle of June, upon a rock exposed to the sun. The two sexes approached by jumps, which became fewer and slower as they drew near. The male ended these preliminary stages of courtship by suddenly leaping upon the female. He then passed one of his palps un- der her abdomen, and, holding and inclin- ing her body with the other, inserted first one and then the other palp. When the pairing was ended, the two sexes separated Fic. 23. The pairing of the Laterigrade species, Xysticus trivittata. (From Nature.) and promptly ran away from one another.® Emerton‘ says of the same family that the male leaps upon the back of the female, and is carried about by her. He. reaches down at the side of her abdomen and inserts his palps into the epigynum underneath. The Pairing of Lycosids. 1 Psyche, Vol. V., 1889, page 169. 2 Clerck, Aran. Syec., pages 91, 92, pl. 4, Tab. 5, Figs. 1, 2, male. 3 Walck., Apt., I, page 328. * Habits and Structure, page 95. 50 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. accuracy of the early observation made by Clerck is thus abundantly con- firmed. The attitude of Lycosa is represented in Fig. 24, which has been drawn from Nature for this work by Mr. Emerton. Among the Attide, De Geer has described the pairing of Epiblemum scenicum (Attus scenicus), which occurred upon a wall. The male mounted upon the body of the female, passing over her head towards her abdomen, under which he advanced one of his palps. He gently raised the abdomen by upward pressure of his legs, and then ap- plied the extremity of his palp to the vulva. An instant afterward the two spiders separated and removed a little distance from one another. The male did not wait long before again approaching, and he repeated many times the action above described. ‘The female did not offer the slightest opposition, but, on the contrary, seemed to greatly enjoy the act.1 Pairing of Attide. TV. The mating of the Attoids, as told in the delightful pages of Mr. and Mrs. Peckham’s Observations on Sexual Selection in Spiders, presents one of the most important chapters in the life history of araneads. It is a strange and interesting story, a romance of natural history as fascinating as any love story of modern fiction. These ‘accom- : plished arachnologists, who have Fic. 24. Male of Lycosa saccata embracing the female. carried on all their studies to- From Nature. (Drawn by Emerton.) 5 o gether, have given special atten- tion to the Saltigrades, and they were led into the study of the courtship of these interesting creatures by a desire to solve some of the current problems in natural and sexual selection. Independent of this, the facts recorded are extremely valuable. The first group of observations uncovered the habit of the males to exhibit themselves before the females in a series of varied movements, which may be generally characterized as dancing. The purpose Love of this appears to be, beyond doubt, to attract the attention of Dances of : 2 = the Males, ‘e female, and render her complaisant to the addresses of her lover. The courtship of Saitis pulex was thus conducted: The male, when placed in a box with a mature female, at once observed her, although she was twelve inches away. At the distance of four inches he stood still, and then began the most remarkable performances that an amorous male could offer to an admiring female. She eyed him eagerly, changing her position from time to time, so that he might always be in view. He, in the meantime, extended the fore legs upon one side of the * De Geer, L’Hist. des Insectes, page 90. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. 4 | — body in such wise as to elevate that side and correspondingly to depress the other. The legs and palpus of the lower side were folded under, and upon these the spider sidled along, moving in a semicircle for about two inches. He then instantly reversed the position of the legs, and circled in the opposite direction, gradually approaching nearer and nearer to the female in the course of these oscillations. The female dashed toward him, while he, raising his first pair of legs, extended them upward and forward, as if to hold her off, but withal slowly retreated. Again he began his oscillating movements until one hundred and eleven circles had been counted. The female in the meanwhile gazed toward him, apparently in a softer mood, evidently admiring the grace of his antics. When he had approached almost within reach of her, he whirled madly around and around her, she joining and whirling with him in a giddy maze. He then fell back, and resumed his semicircular motions, with his body tilted over. She, all excitement, lowered her head and raised her body, so that it was almost vertical. The two then drew nearer. The female moved slowly under the male, he crawling over her head, and the mating was accomplished.! A male of Synagales picata executes his love dance with all his feet on the ground. He raises himself on the tips of the six hindermost legs, but slightly inclines his head downward by bending his front Saitis pulex. me : legs, their convex surface being always turned forward. His ab- ea domen is lifted vertically, so that it is at a right angle to the gales. plane of the cephalothorax. In this position he sways from side to side. After a moment he lowers the abdomen, runs a few steps nearer the female, and then tips his body and begins to sway again. Now he turns in one direction, now in another, pausing every few moments to rock from side to side, and to bend his brilliant legs so that she may look full at them. He could not have chosen a better position than the one he took to make a display, and the observers were impressed by the fact that the attitude taken by the males served perfectly to show off their fine points to the female.” Marptusa familiaris is an Attus of sombre gray and black colors, that may be frequently found on trees, fences, and like positions in the neigh- borhood of Philadelphia. It is apparently a widely distributed Wooing species. When the two sexes were placed together, the female Bee saw the male as he entered at the opposite side of the box, thir- familiaris.teen inches away. Eyeing him attentively, she slowly changed her position to keep him in sight, and kept her palps moving rapidly, a characteristic action of the species. As the male neared her, 1 Observations on Sexual Selection in Spiders of the Family Attidee. By George W. and Elizabeth G. Peckham. Occasional Papers of the Natural History Society of Wisconsin, Vol. L., 1889. 2 Idem, page 43. 52 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. he stretched the first and second pairs of legs sidewise, but after a moment backed away. These manceuyres were repeated many times, the attitude assumed during them being as represented by Fig. 25. Occasionally he would bend the tip of the abdomen down, lifting the body up on the last joints of the two hindermost legs. The female always paid the greatest attention to his movements, lying on the ground with all the legs flattened Fic. 25. Positions in courtship of Marptusa familiaris. and the palpi slightly raised, the ee Sa only movement visible being the yi- bration of the palps. There is a certain slowness and dignity about the wooing of this species, almost ludicrous.! The males of Dendryphantes capitatus approach the female rapidly, until within two to five inches, when they stop and extend the legs di- rectly forward close to the ground, the legs being slightly curved, with the _ tips turned up. This position serves admirably to Showing expose the whole of the bronze and white face pee oY (Fig. 26) to the attentive female, who watches him closely from a little distance. As the wooer grows more excited, he lies down on one side, with his legs still ed f extended. These antics are repeated for a very long time, ic. 26. Bronze ee for hours, before the female accepts his addresses. Sea ane The male of Habrocestum splendens is a magnificent fel- tes. Male. (Af low, having an abdomen of glowing pink, and bronze ceph- ‘™ P°*?2™) alothorax tinted with reddish brown. He began his addresses by advanc- ing a few inches towards the female and then backing off again. aa This movement was repeated many times. After awhile he set- cestum tik : : rate bee 4 p= ; : eolonders tled down under a little web in a corner. The female, troubled by this indifferent treatment, advanced toward him, whereupon he came out and she fell back. This play was kept up for some time, and at length the male began his courting in earnest. When within a few inches of her, he commenced a rapid dance from side to side, raising the whole body high on the tips of the legs, the first pair being directed forward, and the palps clasped together, with the abdomen Fic. 27. Male Saltigrade, Habroces. turned to one side and lifted up. (Fig. 27.) aa Uke ee After a short dance he stood motionless, striking an attitude as shown in the figure, re- maining quiet for half a minute. Then he turned his back on the female, moving irregularly about with his legs forward and his palps vibrating. 1 Tdem, page 44. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. Again he danced sidewise before her, strutting and showing off like a peacock, whirling around and around. Professor Peckham at first supposed that this turning around was accidental, but it hap- pened so regularly at a certain stage of Color courtship, that he concluded that it was an Evolu- : : 2 wie : P ; : important part of his display, serving the tions. better to show his brilliant abdomen.! In approaching the female the males of Phileus ¢*_ militaris were very eager and fairly quiy- 32 ered with excitement. The first two legs were raised over the head and curved toward each other, so that the tips nearly met, and the palps Philezeus militaris. were moved up and down. (Fig. 28.)? Fic. 28. Philzus militaris when ap- proaching the female. ter Peckham.) Position of male (Af- Astia vittata is peculiar in the fact that it has two well marked male forms, which shade into each other, but maintain at least one characteristic distinction, namely, three tufts of hair which mark the black form, niger. Dervish Dance of and how best to proceed. Mrs. courtship dances. Peckham was kind enough to send me a box in which were packed a number of specimens of the female and both varieties of the male, in order tin, that I might witness these remarkable This was prior to the receipt of the work from which I have been quot- ing, and I had but a hint of what I might expect, Moreover, my specimens unfortunately, arrived in a bad condition. were dead except one female and two males, and All Fic. 29. Male Astia vittataindanc. toe latter were much dilapidated, one of them par- ing position before female. (From ticularly being apparently in a dying condition. Nature.) doses of water and good nursing. One of them in a short time seemed quite well. I placed the three together in a box, and had the privilege of observing, in some degree, what the Peckhams have so fully described. The most lively male at once began animated movements, which were evidently induced by the presence of the female, who, however, ran away and kept cir- cling around the box, running over the walls and climbing upon the glass cover without showing any disposition to respond to the advances made. I succeeded, however, in resuscitating both males by Fic. 30. The male of Astia vittata in the act of vaulting during a love dance. (From Nature.) The male threw himself into what may be described as a rampant position 1 Tdem, page 49. 2 Idem, page 51. 54 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. (Fig. 29), that is, the body was thrown into a position at about an angle of forty-five degrees, the abdomen almost in the line with the cephalothorax, but a little bent under at the apex, which nearly or quite touched the ground. The two hind pairs of legs were thrown outward from the body, the fourth or hindermost pair being well curved, the third or next pair somewhat bent, but more extend- erect ed. The second pair (next to the foremost) confirmed W@8 quite extended in a line without much curvature, except towards the last two joints. gated aera a ee The front legs were extended in a line somewhat vittata. Male with front Curved, and well thrown upward above the head, and ae poise. (After Peck- the palps, which are black, were stretched out in a corresponding position, and continually rubbed one upon the other in an excited manner. In this attitude the male moved backward and forward with a lively sal- tigrade movement, whirling around a little as he leaped upward (Fig. 30) and brush- ing the tips of his palps together in the meanwhile. This was about all I was permitted to see, but it at least confirms in part what the Peckhams have so care- fully recorded. The first male form, which corresponds in appearance to the female, when he ap- proaches his mate, raises his first ee sf legs so that they point either ate forward or upward, keeping his palps stiffly outstretched, while the tip of his abdomen is bent to the ground. This position he commonly takes Fic. 32. Position of male Astia vittata when when three or four inches away. While oe female Muh cerereee, he retains this attitude he keeps curving and waving his legs in a very curious manner. Frequently he raises only ae , one of the legs of the first pair, running all the La" time from side to side. As he draws nearer to the female, he lowers his body to the ground and, dropping his legs also, places the two anterior : pairs so that the tips touch in front (Fig. 52), Fic. 33. Male of icius mitratus ‘4€ proximal joints being turned almost at an dancing before female. (After angle to the body. Now he glides in a semicir- lowe cle before the female, sometimes adyancing, some- times receding, until at last she accepts his addresses. The Niger form is much the more lively of the two, and whenever the LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. aya) two varieties were seen to compete for the female, the black male was suc- cessful. He is bolder in his manners, and was neyer seen to assume the prone position as did the red form when close to the female. He always held one or both of the first legs high in the air (Fig. 31), waving them wildly to and fro; or, when the female became excited, he stood perfectly motionless before her, sometimes for a whole minute, seeming to fascinate her by the power of his glance. The male of Icius mitratus is quite different from the female, especially in his slender tapering body and long first legs. The female is remark- able for her indifference, and takes less interest in the male’s display of his personal charms than any spider observed. In courting and fighting, the position of the male is the same; the body is somewhat raised; the first legs are held at a right angle to the cephalothorax ; the abdomen is twisted to one side, and, as he dances before his lady love, is changed now to the right, now to the left.' (Fig. 33.) It is interesting to find that these amorous displays on the part of males haye recently been observed in other invertebrates. Mr. 'T. H. Mor- gan thus describes the performance of a male crab (Platyonychus Love ocellatus) in paying his courtship to the lady crab. The specimens Dance of : , : Fics Gee the Male Were confined together in an aquarium. While sketching some Grab hermit crabs which had previously been placed in the same tank, the observer was attracted by the movements of the male Platy- onychus. Without apparent cause he was seen to rise upon the third and fourth pairs of legs; his large chelee were thrown above his head, with the claws open and their points touching in the middle line; his fifth pair of feet were held horizontally behind, and his body perpendicular to the floor of the aquarium, or at right angles to the normal position. The posture was ludicrous, and when he began slowly to gyrate, his movements and attitude were the cause of much merriment upon the part of the spectators. At times he balanced on two legs of one side, again on two legs of opposite sides. Now he advanced slowly and majestically, and now he wheeled in circles in the sand on the floor of the aquarium, and now for a few moments he stood as if transfixed in this unnatural posi- tion. An electric light hung above and to one side of the water, which suggested the possibility that it might be the exciting cause. It was turned out, and still the dancing went on. At last, from sheer exhaustion, Mon- sieur Crab sank down to the sand in his usual attitude. But now the female, who had all this time remained tucked away in the sand, came forth and began to moye about the aquarium; soon she came near to the male crab, who instantly rose to his feet and began to dance. Again and again the performance was repeated, and each time the approach of the female was the signal for the male to rear upon his hind feet, and reel about the aquarium as if intoxicated. 1 Tdem, page 50. 56 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. At times, when the female approached him as he danced, he was seen to make attempts to enclose her in his great chelate arms, not with any violence, for the claws never snapped or closed violently. She was coy, however, and refused to be won by his advances; for the dance may have been nothing new to the lady crab, nor half as interesting as it was to the two spectators outside the water. Later the male also buried himself in the sand, and the performance came to an end.1 The love dances of Saltigrade spiders also suggest a similar habit record- ed of certain birds. Familars of our American woods and fields will recall the well known partridge dances. Among the Chatterers the beau- Love tiful bird known as the Cock of the Rock (Rupicola rocia) is Dances o : + : : Birds. famous for its saltigrade performances at the mating time. In- deed, the action of our domestic pigeons and barnyard fowls, although not so decided as these, yet suggest a like tendency.? _ Mr. Wallace has given an account of similar actions by the beautiful Birds of Paradise in the Aru Islands. They moult about January or Feb- ruary; and in May, when in full plumage, the males assemble in the morn- ing to exhibit themselves in a most singular manner. These are what are called their “ sécaleli,’ or dancing parties, and they occur in certain trees in the forest, which are not fruit trees, but have an immense head of spread- ing branches and large but scattered leaves, giving a clear space for the birds to play and exhibit their plumes. On one of these trees a dozen or twenty full plumaged male birds assemble together, raise up their wings, stretch out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes, keeping them in a continual vibration. Between whiles they fly across from branch to branch in great excitement, so that the whole of the tree is filled with waving plumes in every variety of attitude and motion. The bird itself is nearly as large as a crow, and is of a rich coffee brown color. The head and neck are a pure straw yellow above, and rich metallic green beneath. The long, plumy tufts of golden orange Displays feathers spring from the sides beneath each wing, and when the ood birdaice are partl led by them. At the time of Bird of Pird is in repose are partly concealed by the ) Paradise. Its excitement, however, the wings are raised vertically over the back, the head is bent down and stretched out, and the long plumes are raised up and expanded until they form two magnificent golden fans, striped with deep red at the base, and fading off into the pale brown tint of the finely divided and softly waving points. The whole bird is then over- shadowed by them, the crouching body, yellow head, and emerald green throat forming but the foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above. When seen in this attitude the Bird of Paradise really 1'T. H. Morgan, Popular Science Monthly, February, 1889, “The Dance of the Lady Crab.” * For further material on the display of their charms by the males of birds see Darwin’s Descent of Man, Vol. II., chap. xiii, Am. Ed. LOVE DANCES OF SALTIGRADES. Oo ~I deserves its name, and must be ranked as one of the most+beautiful and wonderful of living things.! This habit enables the natives to obtain specimens with comparative ease. As soon as they find that the birds have fixed upon a tree on which to assemble, they ambush themselves in the neighborhood. uralsize.) F1c.94(upper). Cocoons. Gers were counted, which had passed their first (Natural size.) Fic. 95 (lower). En- yyoult. In another cocoon, taken from a string larged. FG. 96. Cocoon string of ; : Epeira bifurca, showing shape and of five only, there were twenty-six. The num- Buzarnonitions | lataral size) ber varies a good deal, however. The cocooning period appears to extend into May; at least I have received from Miss Anna Wittfeld, as late as the middle of June, a string, in which were AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. manner of suspension.* MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 105 some cocoons empty, one with spiderlings passed the first moult several days, and another with young who had just broken the egg. There was no trace of the bifurcated abdomen upon these younglings. The spider is of a uniform heght green color, about the shade of its cocoon. Another Orbweaver that makes several cocoons is Epeira basilica. I am indebted to Dr. George Marx, of Washington, for the specimens from which the following studies and drawings have been made, as well as for the information concerning Basilica’s habit of caring for her eggs. The number of cocoons is five, thus corresponding with that of Labyrinthea, and generally with Caudata. They are round, covered on the outside with gray spinningwork, and united by a cordage so stiff that the series stands out like a stick. They are attached to a triangular patch of yellowish white silk, which is an expansion of a long, glossy, strong linen like cord, composed of many threads, by which the string of egg balls is suspended. (Fig. 98.) According to Dr. Marx, whose observations were made at Washington, the string is hung just above the centre of Basilica’s peculiar domed snare, and wholly or in part within the dome, as represented at Fig. 99. The mother has position beneath her egg bags, back downward, as is the habit of Orbweavers making horizontal snares.! When the cocoon is dissected, it is found to consist, first, of an exterior sac of gray material; within this is next enclosed a round black case (Fig. 100), four or five millimetres in diameter, haying a thin shell of remark- able hardness, in this respect resembling the cocoon of — Fis. 98. Cocoon string Cornigera. When illuminated and examined under the PAGIaG CHa microscope this egg ball is seen to be composed of yellow silken fibre of exceeding fineness, and so closely woven that, looked at when within its bag, it is quite black. The paper lke stiffness of the ball could hardly be caused by even such fine spinning, and I believe that the fibres are smeared with a viscid secretion, which gives them their peculiar stiffness. When this black case is cut open it is seen to contain flossy silk (Fig. 101), which forms the customary wrapping of the eggs and nest of the young spiders. The cocoon of Uloborus is about one-fourth inch long, and one-eighth thick. It is drawn out at either pole into a point, and the surface is covered with small pointed or blunted processes. (Fig. 102.) It is made of a pure white silk, quite stiff of texture. Several of these cocoons (I have never found more than three) will be found united together so closely that they appear to be but one object, and not strung Cocoon of Basilica Spider. Cocoon. 1 See for further details Vol. I., Chapter IX., especially page 170, Fig. 159, 106 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. ys NANA aus eZ i \ (a Ly MY YY uh te i i ite SS . WA oe < I eas ne ata RoE Ny reais Samos ac (aN ‘ BS ape x a i Meas WANG a MATERNAL INDUSTRY : COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 107 loosely, by attaching threads, as is the case of some other spiders that make several cocoons. However, in this respect, the habit may differ. As a rule these cocoons are stretched like those of Cyclosa caudata, along the axis of the mother’s horizontal orb, and are thus im- mediately under the maternal care. (Fig. 103.) In this posi- tion I have seen them in New Jersey, and thus Mrs. Treat has F's: 102 Cocoon of Uloborus, enlarged observed them, and so also Mr. to show the surface FiG. 100. Fic. 101. Emerton has described them, P™*: Cocoon of Basilica spider: Fic. 100, <5 F : 5 c the case open to show the black (Mig. 104.) Our American species appears in this egg ball; Fic. 101, the ball open respect to have the same habit as the European to show the inside structure. ; ee species, Uloborus walckenaérius. This mode of disposing of the cocoon, however, cannot be universal, for I possess a specimen, received from Dr. George Marx, which is stretched along a little twig, to which its orb was attached, at a point slightly above the cocoon string. (Fig. 105.) Hentz describes the cocoon of Uloborus mammeatus as tapering at both ends, in color whitish, with veins of brownish black, and with many small tubercles. He collected it in Alabama in dry places.! WAL The division here indicated between species habitually making a single cocoon and species habitually spinning several is, on the whole, a natural one; but there are certain facts to be noted which throw a measure of Fic. 103. Cocoon string of Uloborus in position upon the snare. uncertainty around any such generalization. For example, it has long been 1 “Spiders of the United States,” page 129, plate xix., Fig. 126. 108 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. its size and the number of eggs that are found therein, one would seem to be sufficient to guarantee the continuance of the species. I have no doubt that, as a general rule, Coph- inaria makes but one cocoon, but that there are exceptions is very certain. Several years ago a_ clerical friend brought me two cocoons of this species, which had been spun on his premises by the same spi- der. Mrs. Mary Treat has discoy- ered what appears to her to be a ya- riety of Argiope cophinaria, which makes four cocoons, and which she accordingly named Argiope multi- concha.! She sent me a string of i these cocoons, of which there were four, of the general shape and about the usual size, strung within a few inches of each other. They had been spun against the wall of a kitchen in a house in Western Missouri. The spider mother was also sent, but the specimen was much dried up, and in such a condition that it could not be very satisfactorily studied. It seemed to differ in no particular from Argiope cophinaria. If it be indeed the same species, what are the pecul- lar circumstances that have caused such a remarkable variation in habit? Is it true that Cophinaria does, more frequently than has been supposed, indulge in the lux- ury of an additional egg case? Two cocoons of this lot were open- ed and found to contain young spi- ders that had hatched, but died within the egg sac. The spider- lings were not counted, but they were very numerous. During the summer of 1888 a female Cophinaria was Double discovered in the Farm- ee ers’ Market of Philadel- Fic. 105. cepa snare pes cocoon giope. | Phia upon the meat stall Se eee of one of the butchers. She had probably been brought into the market from the country, hid- Fic. 104. Cocoon string of Uloborus; cocoons in the snare. (After Emerton.) 1“American Naturalist,” December, 1887, page 1122. MATERNAL INDUSTRY: COCOONS OF ORBWEAVERS. 109 den among vegetable leaves, as the huge tarantula and the large Lateri- grade spider, Heterapoda venatoria, are brought to our port from the West Indies in bunches of bananas and other fruit. Or, she may have floated in, as a young balloonist, from some city garden; for the species is abundant in open grounds within the city limits. Instead of brushing her down and killing her, after the usual manner of dealing with such creatures, the farmer took a fancy to preserve her, and would allow no one around his stall to inflict any injury upon her. She wove her char- acteristic web against one of the iron rods for suspending meat, chickens, game, ete., and there remained secure during the season. Some time between the 10th and 20th of August she be- gan to make a cocoon, which she enclosed within a little tent of interlacing lines, after the manner of that repre- sented at Fig. 40. About a week or ten days thereafter she made a second cocoon, placing it in a position sixteen inches above the other. Both of these co- Vy coons I saw precisely as they were left by the spider. They were spun within tents of crossed lines, five or six inches long and four or five wide, with a thickness of between two and three inches. The lines constituting the under edges of the tent were at- tached to the post of the stall on which the orb was spun. The upper tent had its roof lines sustained and drawn out from the post by the i = Soe a pS | + ane A ie | Fic. 106. Double co- IX i\ 4 \ foundation lines of the orb. (Fig. { si eeiaea Re eS ! 106.) The lines composing the tents hung ina meat stall. y iN gah) Ki were of a greenish yellow silk, sim- I =i il \ | | \ 4 ilar to that used in the construction of the cocoon cases. I removed the cocoons and opened them. The lower one was an inch and a quarter long and seven-eighths of an inch wide; was com- posed of a soft, yellow silken plush, and inside was constructed pre- |/ cisely like the ordinary egg sac of this species. It contained one hundred and twenty eggs, all of them sterile. The only peculiarity was that the stem which one usually finds at the top was missing. The second cocoon was not quite so large, one inch long and five-eighths of an inch wide, but was more perfect in shape, containing the usual stem. The eggs within this cocoon were also sterile, and the number did not exceed fifty. The number of eggs in both cases is small as compared with the usual fecundity of the species. We may probably account for the making of the second cocoon by some abnormal condition of the ovaries, which prevented the ovipositing 110 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. of all the eggs at once. The first lot, when extruded, were protected in the usual manner. Subsequently Nature compelled the mother to get rid of the remaining eggs; and, moved by the same impulse which covered the first lot, she was excited to overspin the second also. This species will sometimes make a cocoon, or a part of one, in con- finement, and I have observed that she will occasionally do the same in natural site. I have the branch of a bush which shows the beginning of a cocoon, being the little cup against which the eggs are spun, and also what appears to be the imner egg bag. There is nothing more, and the whole is stayed and shut in by the usual tent like spinningwork. Near by is a perfect cocoon, secured in quite the same manner. If we suppose that these two were made by the same spider, as is highly probable, we may infer that the original cocooning purpose of the mother was diverted in some manner, perhaps by alarm, which drove her from the spot. She returned to enclose the work partially done, but, moved by the urgency of motherhood, presently found a neighboring site, and finished her maternal duties. Epeira diademata habitually spins but one cocoon; but the Spanish investigator, Termeyer,! in the early part of this century, discovered and announced that she would spin as many as six cocoons when specially nourished. The fact strikes me as an extraordinary one, and I have never felt quite free to fully admit it. 1 Walckenaer’s Aptéres, Vol. I., page 152. CEA Pa ER. Ve GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. Havine considered in detail the structure of the cocoons of Orbweavers, it is important for the sake of comparison that we should also consider some of the typical cocoons of other tribes. It will not be practicable to enter into details as fully as with the Orbweavers, nor to consider as many species in any of the remaining tribes. But I will give a few examples, under each tribe, of those species whose cocooning habits may be considered typical.? Ie Theridium tepidariorum is one of our best known Lineweavers. — It appears to be a native of America, and has been widely distributed by im- migration throughout Europe. I judge that the course of immi- : ae eration has been eastward, because in Europe the species is found ium tepi- : E : « AY Ge Ty ih r nyay 4 pie ¢ 6) Oo Aart _almost exclusively in hot houses, both in England and on the continent, while in America it habitually lives in fields, forests, ravines, among rocks, around outhouses, indeed everywhere that a cobweb can be located. In short, in Europe the conditions of its life are artificial, in America natural. It is a ferocious species and an expert trapper, prey- ing upon some of the largest insects. It spins during the season from three to five ovoid cocoons, often sharply pointed at one end, varying some- what in size, but sometimes at least a third of an inch in the longest diameter. These are woven within the retitelarian snare of the creature, and sus- pended well towards the top. Blackwall’s figure of the manner in which the cocoons are suspended is erroneous, or the English spiders must differ in habit from the Ameri- can. I have never seen any such sheeted, bell shaped tent as that which this author represents as enclosing the cocoons. The cocoon is rather simple in structure, consisting of an outer case of yellowish brown material, well compacted, stiff, within which the eggs are loosely placed without any or with but little interior pad- ding. During the weaving process the cocoon is hung by a strong thread, or series of threads, to the cross lines of the snare. The spider Cocoon Weaving. 1 My systematic knowledge of the other tribes is far less than of Orbweavers, and I have sometimes had difficulty in positively identifying the species whose habits I have observed. But I hope that I have not erred in many cases; certainly not in enough to materially affect my statements and conclusions. (111) 112 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. clings to her web by one long fore leg, while with other legs she revolves her cocoon, using the hind legs, as is customary, to draw out the spinning stuff. This issues in numerous diverging filaments, which bunch up in minute loops as the abdomen descends, and are beaten down smooth by the spinnerets. Our widely distributed Latro- dectus mactans! quite resembles Tepidariorum in cocooning habit; but its ovoid cocoons are larger, being a full half inch at the longer axis, and somewhat more spheri- Fic. 107. Cocoons of Theridium tepidariorum, hung in her eal in shape. She makes at least snare. (About natural size.) “ as many as four or five cocoons. Theridium serpentinum Hentz? is one of our common Lineweaving spi- ders, whose snares are found in dimly lighted cellars and in rooms aban- doned or rarely used. In the angle of a window or wall the ae mother spreads her snare of intersecting lines, and establishes eee ~ herself at one end thereof, always well towards the top. In the course of time she succeeds in thickening her dwelling place by added threads, until it has formed a sort of shelter of lines much more closely set than those of the rest of the snare. In the neighborhood of this dwelling place and on a line therewith, or just a little above it and to one side, she spins several co- coons, in number four or five usually, but sometimes as many as eight, as shown in the figure. (Fig. 108.) They are little white, oblong or flask shaped flossy balls, about quarter of an inch in diameter, in the centre of which the eggs are depos- ited. In the delicateness and y ; scantiness of the enveloping } NG Fic. 108. Cocoons of Theridium serpentinum in site at top of her snare. (Natural size.) tissue, this cocoon resembles Steatoda borealis and Phol- cus phalangioides. The eggs are distinctly seen through the silken envelope. When the spiders are hatched they hang for a little while in clusters like minute swarms of 1 Lathrodectus formidabilis Walck. See also Vol. I., page 274. 27 am not positive as to the identity of this species. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. ills} bees upon the adjoining lines, and soon thereafter distribute themselves, as is the custom with Theridioids generally, to surrounding points, where they construct webs like the mother’s. Another Theridioid spider, whose specific name is unknown to me, spins a similar snare in like localities, and deposits therein several eggs, almost resembling those of Serpentinum, except that they are of a yellowish brown color and more spherical in shape. They have a pretty appearance as they hang amidst the crossed lines in the dusty and dusky sites which the mother frequents. Among Lineweavers making several cocoons is Argyrodes trigonum. The species belongs to a genus quite famous for- its habit of invading the snares of other Saag . Species, particular- we rooes *t ly those belonging CZ gonum. to its own tribe of Retitelariz, and those Orb- weavers that make com- pound snares and thus af- ford a suitable dwelling place in the labyrinth or maze of crossed lines. I haye ob- served this habit in Trigo- num, but have more fre- quently found it in its own snare. It is an awkwardly shaped creature, and its odd appearance is increased by its habit of bunching its FiG. 109. Argyrodes trigonum in her snare, with three legs together, and hanging i (eae eae upon a few crossed lines in its snare, as represented at Fig. 109. In this position it looks not unlike a trussed fowl in a green grocer’s stall. Her cocoon is a pretty pyriform hanging basket, about one-fourth inch in length and one-eighth in thickness, composed of stiff yellowish brown silk. The upper part is a cone, rounded or tapering well to a point, at which is attached a stiff white cord, by which it is fastened into its place among the crossed lines of the snare. The lower part of the basket termi- nates in a short projection from the middle. (Fig. 110.) The mother makes several cocoons; I have found as many as three (Fig. 109) hanging within a snare at one time, all of which were doubtless made by the little, mother. The cocoons are suspended by long, stout cords. When this hanging basket cocoon is opened the eggs are seen loosely deposited in the midst of a little puff of flossy silk. I sometimes find at the bottom of the cocoon a little hole, through which evidently the young have escaped after hatching. 114 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. Ero thoracica, a spider common to Europe and America, weaves a small flossy cocoon, containing about twelve eggs, which it suspends to various objects, grass, twigs, etc., by a long thread. (See Fig. aes 111.) Emerton has found this spider in New England; it is common in winter under leaves; he has also seen cocoons like those of the European Ero as above described, but has not identified them with the American species, whose web he has not seen. Something similar to this, but a little more complicated in structure, is the pretty orange brown cocoon of Theridium frondeum, which is found suspended ordinarily to a stretched, stiffened cord among rocks or leaves. It appears particularly to love shady positions; at all events, | have found it most frequently among rocks on banks of streams, in ravines, or moist and secluded spots, as far west as the hills of Eastern Ohio. It is about an eighth of an inch long, but varies some- Gee Wwhateinelength: or cue On opening this pretty little cocoon of Theridium frondeum, : it is found to be filled with a delicate white silken floss, in the midst of which the eggs are deposited and the young will be found after hatching. The number of eggs appears to differ a good deal. I have counted as many as twenty-five in one cocoon, but many less than this in others. The flossy padding is compacted well towards the top of the cocoon, and passes out of a round opening therein in the shape of a carded cord of straight lines of white silk, which gradually diminishes until it is compacted into the stiff white cord by which the whole is suspended. A curious arrangement is shown in the en- larged figure of a dissected cocoon (Fig. 113), which is used by the spider as a cap to the open top of her cocoon. In other words, the cocoon, instead of being a continuous piece of spinningwork ‘ gradually tapering into a point, as it appears at the. first 2a ak careless glance, proves to be composed of two pieces. First is the principal part or sac, which has already been referred to as having a round opening at the summit. Fitted di- rectly upon this, but easily separated from it by pulling, is a conical cap, which surrounds the lower part of the sus- pensory cord already described. This cap, by manipulation under the microscope, can be unraveled so that it is seen to have been formed by lapping the yellowish cocooning thread, of which the main sac has been woven, around and Lr aes around the base of the suspensory cord, after that has been _ slightly enlarged. / * (After Cambridge.) spun. (See Fig. 114.) The whole cocoon forms a very beau- tiful and delicate bit of spinningwork, and shows considerable deftness in weaving on the part of its little architect. Somewhat similar to this is the cocoon of Ero variegata (Theridium Cocoon Structure GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS, 115 Fie. 112. Fic. Fic. 116. Fic. 114. Fic. 112. Cocoon of Theridium frondeum, magnified. Fic. 113. The same, natural size, suspended in natural site. Fic. 114. Cocoon of Argyrodes trigonum, much enlarged, to show the structure. Fic. 115. The spiral thread on the cap and stalk. Fic. 116. Cocoons of Ero variegata, twice natural size. (After Blackwall.) 116 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. variegatum), a little spider not uncommon in England, which would arrest the attention of even an indifferent person. It is of an elegant pear shape, formed of a strong yellow brown silk network, and attached by a long elastic stem of the same material to stalks of dead grass, sticks, or other substances in shady places.! It is often placed on the under side of rocks, stones, ete. The envelope is double, an inner sac being formed of soft pale brown silk, loosely woven and enclosed in a coarse covering of dark reddish brown threads, which unite and form the stalk. The diameter of the cocoon is about one-eighth inch, and the length of the stalk is from one-tenth to one-half an inch. The cocoon contains about six brown eggs. The mother is one-eighth imch long.? Theridium pallens is a small English Lineweayer, about one-tenth of an inch long, that makes a cocoon a little longer than herself, containing about twenty pale yellow eggs. It is white, of a close, fine text- Therid- ure, and somewhat pear shaped; with several conical prominences ium pa Ma : : ar Si Raiteas disposed in a circle around its greatest circumference. (Fig. 117.) The sexes pair in May; the cocoon is formed in June, and is found on shrubs and bushes, on heaths or near woods.* A Lineweaver which I find in our fields, and which I take to be The- ridium differens (Fig. 118) makes a globular cocoon, about one-eighth inch in diameter, a little larger than herself, which she hangs within her snare of crossed lines that may often be found spun in the interspaces formed by bending down the top and edges of a leaf. The cocoon is rather flossy in its exterior. The cocoon of the Fic.117. Co. Same species, or one closely resembling it, I find within the con- aura cavity of a leaf, formed by pulling the pomted ends inward, as lens. x 4 at Fig. 119. The hollow is overspun with intersecting lines Gore aa which form the spider’s snare and dwelling, and the lodging place for her egg sac. The little mother is usually found near her cocoon, which she often clasps with her legs, especially at any suspicion of danger. She is apt to lug it about from point to point within the leafy bivouae thus prepared. A similar cocoon made by a Theridioid spider which I am unable to iden- tify is represented at Fig. 120. The cocoon was a globular one, resembling in appearance the last two described, but was hidden underneath a stone within a little nest of characteristic spinningwork, but which on one side was protected by a semicircular wall of clay, mingled with silk and attached to the under surface of the stone. In this respect, the cocoon and cocoon nest resemble that of Neriene rufipes and others of this genus as described by European writers. Theridium lineatum Clerck is found among our American fauna, Emer- ton* having taken it in Massachusetts. It is common in Hurope; its cocoon Ero variegata ' Cambridge. * Staveley, “ British Spiders,” page 156. ’ Blackwall, “Spiders of Great Britain,’ page 195. + New England Therididee, page 16. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 117 Fie. 119. Fie. 121. Fic. 118. Snare and cocoon of Theridium differens. BiG. 122. Fic. 119. Cocoon of Theridium differens in a leafy tent. Fic. 120. Theridioid cocoon under a stone. Fic. 121. Cocoon of Theridium linea- tum in natural site on a leaf. (After Blackwall.) Blackwall.) Fic. 122. Theridium yarians and cocoons. (After 118 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. is formed in July and is round, one-fourth inch in diameter, and bluish or greenish blue in color. It is loosely covered with silk and fastened to the lower side of a leaf, the edges of which are bound together, so as to pro- tect it. (Fig. 121.) Theridium varians pairs in June, and in July the female constructs several globular cocoons of dull white silk, of a loose texture, the largest of which measures about one-seventh of an inch in diameter. Therid- They are attached to objects situated near the upper part of the Ee var snare, and contain, according to their size, from twenty to sixty spherical eggs, of a yellowish white color, not adherent among themselves.2. (Fig. 122.) Withered leaves, dried moss, and particles of indurated earth are generally disposed about the cocoons.* This habit, which, as will be seen further on, prevails largely in other families, appears to have but slight hold upon the cocooning instincts of the Lineweavers. The little bronze colored spiders belonging chiefly to the genus Eri- gone, weave their cocoons within the balled mass of intersecting lines which form their snare and abode. I haye seen numberless examples of these webs, made manifest by the morning dews along the Delaware, shining over the entire external foli- age of a large spruce tree from top- most to lowest bough. Again, they will be seen with other Theridioid webs, glittering in the slanting sun- light on myriads of bunched grass tops, timothy heads, and weed tops. “Some species of Erigone make a lit- Fic. 123. Cocoon of Erigone (?) suspended between tle balled cocoon similar to those eth of Theridium first described, and similarly held within the snare. Another form of cocoon which I attrib- ute to a spider of the same genus is a minute white button shaped or double convex bag, from one-sixteenth to one-eighth inch in diameter. It is suspended at the converging points of four lines (Fig. 123), which are attached to the surrounding foliage, as in the ex- ample shown of a cocoon hung between two twigs of pine, near a Theridioid web, in which an Erigone was ensconced. Erigone. 2 Two small round cocoons are seen within the tent like structure in the cut, but in this case, as with the figure of Theridium tepidariorum, as heretofore remarked, the artist has erred by drawing in a sheeted tent instead of a structure of open lines. * Blackwall, Spiders Gt. B. & I., page 189, pl. xiv., Fig. 120, d. GENERAL COCOONING HABITS OF SPIDERS. 119 Theridium zelotypum makes a flattened cocoon of soft silk, which she establishes within her pretty nest, that has heretofore been described (Vol. I., page 317) as a silken, bell shaped tent thatched with the leaves aided of spruce, balsam, hemlock, or other plant on which it is built. pemate Within this the young are hatched, and here for a while after their exode mother and young may be found dwelling together. A like habit is possessed by the English nest making spider, Theridium riparium, whose most remarkable nesting architecture is described Vol. I., page 3818. The mother makes several yellowish white, round cocoons about one-eighth inch in diameter.! Theridium sisyphum also shelters her reddish brown cocoons in a silken tent which hangs in her snare, and is sometimes strengthened by the intro- duction of dried leaves and other extraneous matter.” Another English spider, Theridium nervosum, also® forms a silk lined nesting tent, thatched with bits of dead leaves, flowers, or other particles, including the débris of slaughtered insects. Within this tent the mother ‘spins a little round green cocoon, containing yellowish white eggs. The cocoon is one-eighth inch long, the spider herself being one-sixth inch. The mother is usually to be found in an inverted position, embracing her treasure and covering it with her body. It is probable that all the nest weaving species of Retitelariz place their cocoons within their nests, in which habit they substantially agree with their congeners, who suspend their cocoons upon the thickened cross lines which form the resident part of their snares. I have never been able to determine satisfactorily from observation the cocoons of our common species of Linyphia, but the Linyphia montana of Europe makes a flattened white cocoon, which it usually conceals underneath a stone, remaining with it and guarding it with the greatest care.+ Linyphia marginata, one of our most common American spiders, is also a European species.° It pairs in May, and in June the female spins one or two lenticular cocoons of white silk of a loose texture, which are at- tached to withered leaves or other objects situated near the snare. The larger of these cocoons measures half an inch in diameter and contains about one hundred and forty spherical eggs of a palish yellow color, not agelutinated.°® The English Linyphia ecrypticolens is remarkable for the habit of car- rying her cocoon fastened by threads to her spinnerets. It is globular and of a diameter equal to the whole length of the mother, is formed in June Linyphia. 1 Staveley, British Spiders, page 152. 2 Idem, page 143. 3 See Vol. L., page 317. 4 Staveley, “British Spiders,” page 165. 5 Equal to L. montana Sund., L. resupina Walck. ® Blackwall, Spiders Gt. B. & I., page 215. 120 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. or July, is a pale brownish color, containing brown eggs. It resorts to dark and damp places, as cellars and the under surfaces of stones. It is cer- tainly remarkable to find a Line- weaving species thus approximat- ing the Citigrades, from which it so greatly differs in other respects,