304 
Psyche 
[June 
Figs. 1-2. Wing-body interlocking mechanism of Merope. Fig. 1. Left 
half of pterothorax, dorsal view. As the fore-wing moves medially (a) ; 
parallel ridges, indicated by two heavy lines, on the jugal lobe (JL2), and 
on the metascutellum (R, S3) are brought into contact. Fig. 2. Model of 
interlocking system, posterior view. Small arrow (a) indicates direction of 
emplacement as wing comes to rest, see Fig. 1 ; large arrow (b) the direc- 
tion of intermeshing of the slanted ridges. 1A, 2A, 3A, anal veins; JL2, 
JL3, meso- and metajugal lobes; R, ridge bearing patch of metascutellum, 
S3; a, direction of wing movement; b, direction of interdigitation. 
perpendicularly as in many sound producing structures (Fig. 2, a). 
Stridulatory mechanisms are not known in Mecoptera (Riek 1967). 
The geometry of ridge interdigitation, however, is precisely that 
required to resist postero-lateral wing displacement during locomo- 
tion within a substrate or interstitial spaces. The unique jugal lobe 
and metascutellar structures of Merope may serve then as a wing- 
body interlocking mechanism which increases structural integrity 
during crawling within a matrix. 
Other structural features and meagre biological data suggest that 
Merope is a substrate inhabitant not a surface dweller as are other 
winged Mecoptera. The body is dorso-ventrally flattened ; the pleural 
axes of the undifferentiated thoracic segments are sharply inclined 
from the vertical (Mickoleit 1967). The fore wing is somewhat 
tegmenized, being thicker and more heavily sclerotized than the hind 
wing. Antennae and legs are short; pterothoracic appendages may 
operate almost entirely within the outlines of the flattened wings. 
Little membrane is exposed between tagmata and between abdominal 
segments. These characters result in greatly reduced cross section area 
