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with lower frequency were usually the result of some difficulty dur- 
ing copulation. The relative positioning of a male and female (Table 
2, N) generally indicates whether a problem occurred during copu- 
lation. If the bodies of a male and female were in-line, copulation 
usually had proceeded normally. A female was skewed left or right 
in 44.7% of the matings. Some of the complications that occurred 
during mating are discussed below. 
Sometimes a male lifted a female far off the substrate, so her head 
was almost over his. Other males pushed females backward during 
mounting, then locked genitalia, causing females to be inclined 
almost vertically and males to have greatly arched abdomens. 
When events such as these occurred, the positioning of a pair, espe- 
cially a female’s legs, changed to maintain her balance. For exam- 
ple, the hindlegs of a female typically rested on the substrate. 
However, when a male lifted a female relatively far off the substrate, 
copulation proceeded with more stability when her hindlegs were 
placed on a male’s abdomen. When a male’s abdominal contractions 
increased to an amplitude that caused his hindwings to strike a 
female on the head, she placed one (N = 8) or both (N = 3) forelegs 
about midway up on a male’s fore- or hindwings. This response 
lessened the force of a male’s contractions. Sometimes a mating pair 
fell on their sides (N = 3), but their genitalia remained locked. These 
pairs never regained a normal copulatory position, yet they did not 
break off copulation because of this problem. 
Except for the abdominal contractions and adjustments for stabil- 
ity, other movements by a mating pair were uncommon. Occasion- 
ally the maxillary palps of a male or a female moved or pulsed 
rapidly. 
1 observed courtship and mating on a vertical bark substrate in 
the laboratory (N = 3). When a male courted a female, she oriented 
herself so her head faced downward, then she assumed the receptive 
posture. A male lifted a female off a vertical substrate during copu- 
lation. A female was positioned dorsally and posteriorly on a male, 
similar to mating on a horizontal surface, but in a vertical orienta- 
tion a female balanced directly above a male. On a vertical substrate 
the fore- and midlegs appeared to have supported more of a female’s 
weight. 
The duration of copulation varied considerably (Table 2, O), 
although it was never less than eight or more than 20 minutes. 
