COURTSHIP AND MATING OF INSECTS 



163 



without any sign from the female, one of the males pairs with her 

 and all the others immediately disappear. In these cases the 

 males do not fight or struggle in any way, and as one watches 

 the ceremony the wonder arises as to how the moment is deter- 

 mined, and why the pairing did not take place before. All the 

 males are evidently most eager to pair, and yet when pairing takes 

 place no opposition is offered by the other males to the successful 

 suitor. Proximity does not decide the point, for long beforehand 



Fig. 1118. "Assembling" of Oak Eggar Moths (Lasiocampa quercus]. The female is the large pale moth, 

 with simple antennae, at the top of the cut. 



the males often alight close to the female, and brush against her 

 with fluttering wings. In watching this wonderful and compli- 

 cated courtship one is driven to the conclusion that the female 

 must signify her intention in some way unknown to us, and that 

 it is a point of honour with the males to abide by her decision. 

 I have watched the process exactly as I have described it in a 

 common northern Noctua, the Antler Moth (Char&as graminis), 

 and I have seen the same thing among beetles. The fact is well 

 known to entomologists, and, as far as the evidence goes, it 

 supports Darwin's theory." 



THE FINDING OF MATES. As implied in the preceding para- 



