4 
Psyche 
[March-June 
September and October 1972. The three species of Aristolochia 
involved were already growing in a greenhouse tropical room for 
about two years, and the Parides eggs were transported (by air) 
from Costa Rica to Lawrence on September 6, 1972. Since the 
natural food plant was not in culture at Lawrence, enough cuttings 
of it were also brought to Wisconsin to sustain the larvae through 
the earlier instars. At Lawrence, 10 larvae were on the natural food 
plant, and 8 on each of the “novel” food plants. 
Field studies of larval and adult behavior consisted of making 
repeated observations on the feeding, resting, and defensive habits of 
larvae in different instars, and on the oviposition behavior of adults. 
Results 
1 Habitat selection 
Adults of both sexes of P. areas mylotes are most commonly en- 
countered along paths, natural clearings, swamp edges, and other 
exposed areas that either border forest or those which are found in 
the forest interior. For example, the general study site at Tirimbina 
where adults were most frequently seen is between the edge of forest 
and a small river (Fig. 1). This small strip of dense secondary 
growth vegetation is the result of forest being cut back from the 
river edge for the original purpose of growing yucca and other veg- 
etables that form the major diet of these people. Here, the adults 
fly low over dense second-growth vegetation, seldom crossing the 
small river, and frequently flying several meters into the shaded 
forest understory and canopy. Excursions into the forest were most 
frequently done by mated females in search of oviposition sites while 
males and very fresh (presumably unmated) females generally lin- 
gered in the sunlight second-growth. The strip of second-growth 
between the forest and river is a major courtship area for this butter- 
fly at Tirimbina and extensive growths of the larval food plant vines 
are found hanging down from trees along the forest edge and grow- 
ing horizontally in the canopy within a few meters from the edge. 
A later paper (Young, et ah, in prep.) will demonstrate that mated 
females of this species are far more prone to dispersal than either 
males or unmated females. In the present paper, we can say that 
mated females cruise along extensive tracts of cleared forest edge in 
search of egg-laying sites, while males and unmated females remain 
close to their eclosion sites. Courtship encounters are generally con- 
fined to low sunlight vegetation very close to where the adults 
emerged from their pupae. Males precede females in emergence. 
