Sexual Behavior and the Classification of the Philodromus Rufus Complex in North America (Araneida: Thomisidae)

The mating behaviors of Philodromus rufus-like spiders from the Pacific coast, northern Ontario, and southern Ontario near Belleville revealed two species and a subspecies. P. rufus Walckenaer is identified as a transcontinental species in which the males vibrate their legs in courtship and possess an "angular" retro-lateral apophysis on the palpal tibia. P. rufus vibrans Dondale is a small, heavily-speckled subspecies of rufus. The second species is P. exilis Banks, in which the males do not vibrate and have a "non-angular" apophysis, and which occurs in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence-Acadian forests of eastern North America.