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Psyche 
[Vol. 90 
Table 1. Precopulatory behavior in TrichaJenoiecnum alexanderae 
% of Total 
Number of courting attempts 
1. One 
73.7 
by a male (including the one 
2. Two 
15.2 
leading to copulation) 
3. Three 
10.1 
4. Four 
0.0 
5. Five 
1.0 
N=99^ 100.0 
B. Length of time between the x 
introduction of a male s.d. 
and the beginning of mating range 
(i.e., genitalic contact) N 
C. Stage in courtship when a female 
assumed the receptive posture 
1. During the approach of a male 
2. When touched by a male’s antennae 
3. Just before a male backed underneath 
N=96 
1.1 minutes 
1.3 
0. 1-9.0 minutes 
62 
15.6 
83.3 
1.1 
100.0 
^The number of mating pairs for which the states of this behavioral character 
were recorded. 
they separated, a male courted again by approaching a female on 
her side, touching her with his antennae, and fanning his wings. 
Once either sex had fled from an unsuccessful courtship, males 
always began further courtship with a sideways gait. 
I observed the behavior of females that had fled from a failed 
courtship (N = 4). Each female eventually stopped moving, and at 
this time I observed each female flexing her valvulae dorsoventrally 
in a pairwise manner, and making about ten contractions of her 
abdomen. 
The time required by males to establish genitalic contact after 
they were introduced to females varied among mating encounters 
(Table 1, B). This period was usually less than 1 minute if the first 
courtship was successful. A male ran directly to a female in some 
encounters, and the time between introduction and the beginning of 
copulation was usually less than 30 seconds. Some males (N = 5) 
were slower to find females because each remained within a small 
