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Psyche 
[Vol. 92 
men (Wendelken 1976). She straddles the male’s abdomen as she 
mounts and makes “feeding” movements with her mouthparts on 
the male’s exposed abdominal tergites. (Unlike certain cockroach 
species the males do not possess macroscopically visible tergal 
glands in these species.) As she mounts the male backs beneath her. 
When her feeding activities reach the region of the first tergite, the 
male makes rhythmic protrusions of his hooked right phallomere. 
Genital connection is achieved and the pair performs a turning 
operation which results in the opposed copulatory position (Wen- 
delken 1976). 
It should be emphasized that the sequence of events initiated by a 
female’s display of receptive behavior toward a courting male will 
ordinarily proceed quickly to copulation in the absence of disrup- 
tion by other animals. In the family Blaberidae, the ovoviviparous 
reproductive cycle is distinguished by oviposition of the ootheca 
into a brood sac where incubation proceeds until hatching occurs 
about one to three months later. A female which copulates loses the 
capacity for sexual receptivity until after parturition. 
Results 
In these species, aggression between males in courtship situations 
is very intense and often violent. However, there is little in the way 
of aggressive interactions between males and females. Among them- 
selves, males engage in fighting, chasing, and fleeing. Pseudofemale 
behavior was found to play a conspicuous role in the overall context 
of male-male aggression as outlined below. 
Courting males frequently interfere with the courtship of rival 
males. Interference may take place at any stage of courtship. The 
more disruptive forms of intervention are enumerated as follows: (1) 
Frequently, a male will attack another male which is directing pre- 
liminary courtship to a female. The attacker jumps on top of his 
opponent, grasping his tegmina and/or pronotum and biting him. 
(2) A male may attack another male which is performing a full wing 
raising display by showing “aggressive pseudofemale behavior.” 
Before the female has a chance to respond, the aggressive male 
mounts and feeds upon the exposed abdominal tergites of the dis- 
playing male as would a receptive female. However, unlike a recep- 
tive female, when his head reaches the region of the first abdominal 
tergite, he bites the elevated wings or the region of the first tergite of 
