192 
Psyche 
[June 
ber prior to introduction of a male. Males were marked on their 
scutella with dots of fast-drying, enamel paint so that they could 
be readily distinguished from females. 
In November, 1976, M. histrionica were collected from the field 
for a study of polygamy. Twenty pairs were used, and the bugs 
may or may not have been virgins. One male and one female were 
placed with food in each of 20 petri dishes. After a pair copu- 
lated, the female was transferred to a dish with a different male. A 
sample mean is denoted by X; median, M; and size, N. 
Results 
Fourteen of 20 courtships of M. histrionica led to copulation 
(Fig. 1 and 2). Durations from introduction of a male to copula- 
tion initiation ranged from 8.5 to 47.3 min (X — 26.8, M = 24.5). 
Main steps in this bug’s sexual behavior are as follows: 
(1) The male approaches the female with his antennae waving 
while she is mobile or immobile. She may become motionless and 
“crouch down” on the substrate if she is approached when moving, 
or she may escape and crawl away from the male. 
(2) The male antennates the female while she is motionless. If 
his approach is from her front, he antennates her antennae and 
then her scutellum. If his approach is from behind, he antennates 
her posterior abdominal segments and posterior portions of her 
folded wings. Eighteen antennations lasted from 3 to 15 sec (X = 
7.0, M = 8.5). 
(3) After vigorous male antennation, the female rapidly and vio- 
lently jerks her body sideways for approximately 3 sec. If the male 
approaches her from behind, he moves in front of her and anten- 
nates her antennae, and then the female shows jerking movements. 
Females may escape from males during this step in sexual behavior. 
(4) The male moves to the female’s side, stops, and antennates 
her side in different places. Antennating males frequently orient 
approximately 60, 90, 120° with respect to the female longitudinal 
axis. (Zero degrees is considered to be when the bugs are head to 
head.) Eleven males used all three orientations and stopped to 
antennate for from 3 to 5 sec before moving to female posteriors. 
Females respond to antennation by violent sideways jerking. 
(5) When the male reaches the female posterior, he antennates 
and she shows sideways jerking for from 2 to 5 sec. He strokes the 
