REVISION OF MOTHS OF PRODOXINAE 67 



that the moths worked slowly downwards as they laid their eggs, from 

 a higher to a lower level on the branch. The first female was observed 

 at 8:42 p.m. on the evening of July 20. At 9:02 p.m. the moth flew 

 away, having spent a total of 20 mmiites engaged in oviposition. An 

 examination of the branch revealed a scar 6 mm long containing 12 

 eggs. On July 22 at 8:35 p.m., a second female was observed de- 

 positing eggs. This individual left the site at 8:50 p.m. after laying 

 a total of 10 eggs in a row 5 mm in length. The second female prob° 

 ably would have remained longer at this site had it not been for a light 

 rain which began to fall at this time. Thus, the minunum average 

 time required for the insertion of a single egg in the two examples 

 studied was approximately 1.6 minutes. Considering this informa- 

 tion, one can easily conceive that it would have required a moth more 

 than an hour to create some of the egg scars examined. 



Sometimes the eggs are deposited in areas of the plant other than 

 the lateral branches of the panicle. Occassionally the scars can be 

 foimd along the primary stalk. In such areas the scars always are 

 aligned lenthwise (i.e., vertically) along the stem, as is true for the 

 lateral branches. Thus, when ovipositing in the primary stalk, the 

 female assumes a seemmgly awkward, horizontal position on the 

 stalk. Perhaps for this reason, fewer eggs are deposited in the main 

 stem as compared to the lateral ones. 



A much more remarkable variation of this habit is the deposition 

 of eggs in the flower petals (fig. 37). In such circumstances, the eggs 

 usually are inserted into the outer surface of the corolla and rarely 

 in the inner layers. This indicates that the species seldom enters the 

 flowers to oviposit. The number of eggs deposited at any one site 

 on a petal rarely exceeds five. Probably due to the relative thickness 

 of the petals, the eggs are inserted almost paraUel to the epidermis. 

 Immediately sm-rounding the eggs, a necrotic area begins to develop 

 which eventually appears as a small and somewhat sunken, brownish 

 spot. One female was observed (July 20) ovipositing in the corolla. 

 The moth had assimied a transverse position near the middle of the 

 petal and was in the process of inserting an egg into the dorsal (outer) 

 surface. Because of the reflexed condition of the pedicel, the female 

 rested on top of the flower in a position comparable to that attained 

 when ovipositing in the lateral branches. 



As a means of acquiring some idea as to the prevalent site of ovi- 

 position, since considerable variation exists, an entire flower panicle 

 was collected (July 26) and examined for egg scars. The results of 

 this exammation of egg distribution of Paratecjeticula pollenifera on 

 Yucca schottii are summarized below. It can be added that super- 

 ficial observations of other panicles showed similar patterns of egg 

 distribution. 



