I just attempted to mate my two emilias once again. I must have tried about 6 or 7 times so far, not sure if any of them were successful. Once, I put the male in with the female and he didn't move for the longest time, so I left them together overnight. In the morning, they were both in the exact same position! I assume no mating took place that night. Another time I put them together and they didn't move for the longest time, so I walked away and did other things. When I came back, the male was climbing the walls, trying to escape. Who knows what happened that time.
Tonight, the male was looking pretty active, pacing around his cage looking for some action. There's the remnants of a sperm web lying on the cage floor, so I assumed he was "cocked and loaded" as it were. I picked him up and dropped him in the corner of the female's cage to see what would happen. Luckily, they were facing each other this time. Another time they weren't quite facing each other and the male's mating attempt was really awkward, I don't think he was successful that time. Anyways, he sat there for awhile and then started to move towards her. After they made contact, they both sat facing each other for awhile. Then she pounced at him, but he blocked her attack in time! It was amazingly fast, no wonder males are so nervous when it comes to mating. He was so excited, he pushed her right on her back. I don't think this resulted in a successful mating and I was a little worried he would bite her while she was in such a vulnerable position. Eventually, he let her get right side up and I thought he would make a run for it. But no, he wasn't finished, he stayed in the game, pushing her back again and stroking her legs to keep her calm. I couldn't really see what was going on down there, but he had her "in position" for a long time and it looked really good. Eventually he did slowly break away and make a run for it. I let him run into my hands and I dropped him back in his cage.
Sorry, no pictures, I just kinda gave it a shot at the spur of the moment. I wasn't even going to try mating her for awhile cause I'm a little scared she's about to molt. But she molted in April '05 and she's about 10+ years old, so she shouldn't be due for a molt for awhile. Her colour does seem a little dull at the moment though. Oh well, I just hope the male can stay alive and "potent" long enough to try again if she does molt.