1987] 
Henry & Busker — Green lacewings 
221 
conifer-associated species that produces but one annual generation 
(Tauber and Tauber, 1976; Henry, 1980a). Each species, but espe- 
cially C. plorabunda, has been well studied because of its impor- 
tance in biological control (New, 1975; Hassan, 1978). Also, both 
species have figured prominently in investigations of sympatric spe- 
ciation through disruptive selection (Tauber and Tauber, 1977a, b; 
1982) and song divergence (Henry, 1980a, 1983, 1985a, b). Extensive 
fecundity data, relating egg production to diet or age, have been 
published for these and several other important green lacewings 
(Rousset, 1983). However, the extent of polygyny and polyandry, or 
the effect of multiple matings on fertility and fecundity, have not 
been determined for any chrysopid. Yet such basic information 
about mating habits and consequences is prerequisite to understand- 
ing several broader issues — particularly, the consequences of differ- 
ent life-history patterns and reproductive strategies, the dynamics of 
rapid speciation through acquisition of assortative mating patterns 
(West-Eberhard, 1983; Henry, 1986), and mass rearing and release 
in programs of biocontrol. 
Methods and Materials 
Data for this paper were generated over several years, as part of a 
larger project investigating courtship singing behavior, reproductive 
isolation, and speciation in sibling species of the genus Chrysoperla 
(Henry, 1983, 1985a, b, 1986). Adult green lacewings of C. plora- 
bunda, C. downesi, and several additional species were collected 
from the field during the warmer months and maintained through- 
out the year in small, outbred colonies of 25 to 50 individuals. Most 
species were available locally, within 15 miles of Storrs, Connecti- 
cut; however, C. downesi and most of the Meleoma emuncta (Fitch) 
came from coniferous forests on the E. N. Huyck Preserve in Rens- 
selaerville, New York. Additional C. downesi in 1982 and 1983 were 
from populations in central Vermont (Echo Lake), southern New 
Hampshire (Mount Monadnock), and northwestern Massachusetts 
(north of Quabbin Reservoir). And late in 1986, we included several 
individuals of C. plorabunda from near Moscow, Idaho, in the 
study. Laboratory colonies of all species were maintained as de- 
scribed earlier (Henry, 1979, 1980a, b) and kept at 26+2° C. An 
artificial diet consisting of equal proportions (by weight) of honey, 
yeast hydrolyzate (Difco™), water, and Wheast™ was available in 
excess to all adults. Chrysopa oculata, the only species studied 
