MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 371 
became darker and darker, until the present melanic colour has been 
attained, 
In 1897 the author showed that the melanie colour of the male of this 
moth is phylogenetically newer than the colour-pattern of the female, 
aud this fact, so far as it goes, lends support to this theory of 
Darwin’s, 
In order to test this hypothesis I cut off the wings of a number of females, 
leaving only short stumps, from which all the scales were carefully brushed, 
Male wings were then neatly glued to the stumps, and thus the female 
presented the appearance of amale. Under these circumstances the males 
mated with the female quite as readily as they would have done under 
normal conditions. 
- [then tried the experiment of gluing female wings upon the male. Here 
again the mating seemed to occur with normal frequency, and I was unable 
to detect that the females displayed any unusual aversion toward their 
effeminate looking consorts. 
Ti is also interesting to note that normal males pay no attention to males 
with female wings. 
In another series of experiments the wings were cut entirely off of males 
and females and the scales brushed off of their bodies ; and yet these shabby 
males were readily accepted by normal females, nor could I see that normal 
males displayed any aversion to mating with wingless females, 
We are therefore forced to conclude that the melanic coloration of the 
male has not been brought about through the agency of sexual selection on 
the part of the female, In this connexion it is interesting to votice that 
Plateau (1897) concludes that insects are atiracted only by the odours of 
flowers, and not at all by their colour, 
In conclusion, it gives me great pleasure to express my gratitude to Miss 
Caroline G. Soule for advice and aid ; to W. L. Tower, Esq., for his kindness 
in collecting many cocoons of the moth ; and to Dr. Robert W. Fuller, who 
provided me with the re-agents used in the manufacture of ethyl mercaptan, 
Summary of Conclusions. 
The male is positively chemotactic toward some substance which emanates 
from the abdomen of the female, and which he perceives through olfactory 
organs situated upon his antennz, 
Females thirty to sixty hours old are much more attractive to males than 
are young females five to ten hours old, 
Virgin females are somewhat more attractive than are fertilized ones of the 
fame age. 
The male will mate at least four times either with the same or with 
different females, 
Neither males nor females pay any attention to the appearance of their 
partners, 
