52 
Psyche 
[Vol. 95 
Table 3. Relationship of larval weight and total distance traveled by individuals 
in groups. Spearman rank coefficients (r s ) and probability (P) at a = 0.05 are 
indicated. 
Group 
Instar 
n 
r s 
P 
A 
1 
48 
-0.11 
0.48 
2 
43 
0.16 
0.32 
3 
33 
0.27 
0.13 
4 
33 
0.23 
0.20 
5 
25 
0.67 
0.0002* 
B 
1 
44 
0.24 
0.12 
2 
40 
0.03 
0.85 
3 
38 
0.51 
0.001* 
4 
32 
-0.24 
0.14 
5 
34 
0.25 
0.15 
C 
1 
48 
-0.16 
0.28 
2 
40 
0.45 
0.003* 
3 
36 
0.33 
0.049* 
4 
33 
0.46 
0.006* 
5 
27 
0.58 
0.001* 
D 
1 
- 
- 
- 
2 
29 
0.42 
0.02* 
3 
24 
0.44 
0.03* 
4 
25 
0.38 
0.06 
5 
25 
-0.06 
0.80 
♦Indicates statistical significance 
Discussion 
In general, studies on Malacosoma species (Laux, 1962; Green- 
blatt and Witter, 1976; Edgerly and Fitzgerald, 1982) and Hemileuca 
lucina reveal only transient leaders and followers, at most. For 
instance, Edgerly and Fitzgerald (1982) found a significant behav- 
ioral difference among M. americanum larvae in only 3 of 8 colo- 
nies, and they found no correlation in activity levels across trials. In 
contrast to that study, we examined larval behavior more directly by 
following marked individuals within trials, among trials and across 
instars, and found that in some cases individual H. lucina were 
consistently traveling relatively long distances across trials and 
instars. But no pattern emerged that would allow us to predict 
which individuals might lead or in which instar that might occur. 
For example, Group C had two instars in which rankings among 
trials were stable (i.e. some individuals were consistently traveling 
faster than others), showed a significant positive correlation 
