1972] 
Henry — Ululodes and Ascaloptynx 
3 
alike of Ululodes were carried off by ants in Brazil, but admits 
that more controlled experimentation is needed to assess the effects 
of the repagula on egg or larval survival. Through my studies of 
the life-histories of Ululodes mexicana and Ascaloptynx furciger , 
I have been placed in a unique position to verify or disprove experi- 
mentally the ant-guard hypothesis, as it applies to these representa- 
tive species of two taxonomically distant genera. Especially important 
is the fact that Ululodes is an ascalaphine genus while Ascaloptynx 
is a neuroptyngine one, thus encouraging direct comparison of the 
functional significance of the morphologically disparate repagula char- 
acteristic of the members of these subfamilies. In the remainder of this 
paper, I intend ( i ) to describe the eggs and repagula of Ululodes 
mexicana and Ascaloptynx furciger , (2) to outline the procedures 
and results of several simple experiments undertaken to test the 
protective importance of the repagula of both species, and (3) to 
discuss the functional significance of the ascalaphine type of egg and 
repagula as compared to that of the neuroptyngine type. 
II. Acknowledgements 
Special thanks are extended to Professor Frank M. Carpenter, 
my advisor and friend for the past five years. All aspects of the 
work in this paper draw heavily from his awesome knowledge of 
insect behavior, morphology, evolution and taxonomy, especially of 
the order Neuroptera. I am also in his debt for his help in guiding 
this study into publishable form. 
My wife, Nancy FitzGerald, should also be cited as a primary 
source of inspiration for this project. Her shrewd suggestions and 
sharp observations in the field are apparent to me again and again 
as I review my notebooks and find her influence in their pages. 
In addition, warm thanks are extended to: Professor Ellis G. 
MacLeod (University of Illinois), for his generous willingness 
to transmit his intimate knowledge of the habits of all sorts of 
neuropterous insects to a neophyte like myself, and for confirming 
the identity of Ascaloptynx larvae; Professor Edward O. Wilson 
(Harvard Biological Laboratories), for enthusiastically supporting 
my research effort and for determining the genera and species of ants 
used in the ant-guard experiments; Mr. Vincent Roth of the South- 
western Research Station, for his assistance with my field work in 
Arizona; Dr. Lauren Anderson (University of California at River- 
side), for his advice on securing newly-hatched ascalaphids; and 
Mr. Robert E. Silberglied (Harvard Biological Laboratories), for 
his photographic help and biological acumen. 
