BAGWORM MOTHS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE H 



ing the pupal shell, the male is ready for flight, and it may be ob- 

 served clinging to the pupal remains or to the lower part of the case 

 exercising its wings. The wing scales of several species are attached 

 very loosely and often are easily lost at this time, leaving a portion 

 of the wing membrane transparent. The flight time of the male may 

 follow either a diurnal, crepuscular, or nocturnal habit, depending on 

 the species. The response to light also varies accordingly; some 

 species are somewhat phototropic while others almost never occur 

 near lights. 



For a majority of the members of the Macro-Psychina (those with- 

 out functional legs), the initiation of the adult stage in the female 

 does not involve an emergence from the larval case; in fact, seldom 

 does this form leave the pupal shell until after copulation has oc- 

 curred. In some of the more primitive members of this group (e.g., 

 Fumaria) and in the Micro-Psy china, the females possess a normal 

 complement of legs, and they are thus capable of leaving both the 

 pupal shell and the larval case. After emerging, these forms usually 

 may be observed clinging to the exterior of the case awaiting copula- 

 tion with a male. In the genera Diplodoma and Narycia, which 

 presently are considered by most authorities to be the most primitive 

 members of the family, the female is fully winged and presumably 

 goes through the same procedure in emerging as does the male. 



More than likely adult males are attracted to receptive females by 

 scent. The distance for this reception may be rather considerable, 

 and in some instances it is believed to be as much as a mile or so. 

 Observations by Hardenburg (1917) on Acanthopsyche junodi sug- 

 gested that females had been visited by males which "could only have 

 come from a couple of miles distant." 



The actual mating procedure varies somewhat in this family, 

 depending upon the location of the emergent female. In the lower 

 forms, as stated previously, copulation with the male occurs outside 

 the larval bag. In the higher psychids, mating has to occur within 

 the case, and the entire abdomen of the male is highly specialized 

 for this requirement. The typical procedure for such forms may be 

 summarized as follows. After locating a case containing a receptive 

 female, the excited male assumes a position at the lower end of the 

 bag and begins to probe with its abdomen into the aperture of the 

 case. Normally the only rupture in the female pupal case occurs at 

 the anterior end,whichprojectsdownward, as did the malepupa. Thus, 

 the abdomen of the male must first pass into this opening and extend 

 the entire length of the female's body (fig. 145) before coming into 

 contact with the female genitalia. This remarkable feat is accom- 

 plished primarily by the telescopic action of the male abdomen, 

 which is capable of extending itself to three times its normal length. 



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