16 



PSYCHE. 



[February igoo. 



It will be seen that 63% of the moths 

 were males, and 37% were females. 



As is well known, in this moth the 

 whigs of the female aie reddish-lirown 

 in color, while in the male the wings 

 are black; also the antennae of the 

 male are large and bnshy, while in the 

 female thej' are small and slender. The 

 male possesses the ability to seek out 

 the female even though she be at a con- 

 siderable distance. The males usually 

 fly toward the females in the afternoon 

 hours between two o'clock and sunset, 

 and it is a common thing to observe 

 several dozen males fluttering about 

 the place where a female is resting. In 

 seeking the female the male flies up 

 against the wind until he comes into 

 her near presence, and then he often 

 flutters to and fro in a bungling manner 

 that for want of better words we may 

 designate as " stupid " and " aimless." 

 Often he may fly into the immediate 

 neighborhood of the female, and even 

 then he will often flutter away without 

 having made any attempt to mate with 

 her. At other times, however, a male 

 will fly at once to the female, and mate 

 with her immediately. 



After issuing from the cocoon the 

 female commonly remains quiescent for 

 some hours until she is fertilized, after 

 which she flies actively about, and de- 

 posits her eggs. During her period of 

 rest the female remains with her wings 

 closed over her back, but when a male 

 moth, or indeed any large object, comes 

 near her within range of her vision she 

 slowly and majestically opens and closes 

 her wings several times. The males, 



when resting, react in a similar manner, 

 but they are by no means so sensitive 

 as the females. In captivity the moth 

 lived from three to five days. 



Observations and Experiments. 



The first experiments were directed 

 to determine whether the male was 

 attracted bv the sigljt of the female, 

 or wbethei' Lie merely perceived some 

 odor which might emanate from her. 



Five females were placed in a large 

 clear glass batterv jar, having a wide 

 epen mouth. The mouth was covered 

 with coarse-meshed mosquito netting, 

 thus allowing a free circulation of air 

 between the interior of the jar and the 

 outside. Five males were liberated 

 about one himdred feet away from the 

 jar, and immediately flew to it, and 

 fluttered about the open mouth. The 

 jar was then inverted (placed mouth 

 downward) and sand was packed 

 around the open end, so as to prevent 

 any escape of air from the interior of 

 the jar. llie females thus remained 

 visible through the clear glass sides of 

 the jar, but no scent could come from 

 them. Under these circumstances all of 

 the males at once flew away, and soon 

 disappeared from sight. When the jar 

 was turned open end up again, how- 

 ever, all of the males reappeared, and 

 flew excitedlv around the mouth. This 

 experiment was often repeated, and 

 always with the same result. The 

 males never pay the least attention to 

 females which are enclosed in a her- 

 metically sealed preserving jar of 



