1987] 
Henry & Busker — Green lacewings 
241 
Table 7. Fertile egg production versus copulation duration characterizing 27 
individual females of Chrysoperla plorabunda and 15 of C. downesi. 
Dura. 
5-7 min 
Chrysoperla plorabunda 
8-10 min 11-13 min 
14-18 min 
19-65 min 
Number 
9 
271 
114 
27 
— 
of 
14 
305 
119 
104 
— 
Eggs 
85 
351 
166 
168 
— 
Laid 
102 
698 
353 
194 
— 
Per 
301 
786 
410 
— 
— 
Individual 
387 
793 
512 
— 
— 
After 
484 
809 
— 
— 
— 
Mating 
743 
893 
— 
— 
— 
777 
— 
— 
— 
— 
Chrysoperla downesi 
Dura. 
5-7 min 
8-10 min 
11-13 min 
14-18 min 
19-65 min 
Eggs 
— 
54 
512 
9 
21 
per 
— 
463 
796 
27 
64 
Individual 
— 
— 
— 
138 
161 
after 
— 
— 
— 
171 
644 
Mating 
— 
— 
— 
303 
824 
— 
— 
— 
— 
840 
receptive females in a population at a given time. The resulting 
approximate equality of sexual selection in the two sexes encourages 
low sexual dimorphism, as observed, although we acknowledge that 
there can be other causes of slight sexual dimorphism. Further 
speculation on subtle strategies of mate choice or sperm rejection by 
females or of sperm competition within the female’s storage system 
should probably await experiments to test specific hypotheses. 
Acknowledgments. 
This study was supported in part by National Science Foundation 
award BSR-8508080 to the first author and by the Research Foun- 
dation of the University of Connecticut. We thank Jane O’Donnell, 
William Cook, Raymond Pupedis, Carrie Toth, Julie Weber, and 
Gary Zanauskas, all presently or formerly of the University of Con- 
necticut, for help in collecting and maintaining living lacewings. Our 
thanks are also extended to the staff of the E. N. Huyck Preserve, 
Rensselaerville, N.Y., for permission to collect at that site, and to 
