1983] 
Betz — Biology of Trichadenotecnum 
115 
A receptive posturing by females has been noted in several other 
species of Psocoptera (Pearman 1928, Sommerman 1943a, 1956, 
Schneider 1955, Broadhead 1961). Apparently only females of T. 
alexanderae have been observed assuming the receptive posture 
before males began backing underneath them. 
The receptive posture appeared necessary only to permit males to 
fit beneath females during mating. Lifting the anterior end of a 
female’s body did not communicate a female’s orientation to a male. 
Males courting one of the freshly-killed females always moved ante- 
riorly along her body, even though she was not in the receptive 
posture. However, the contact made by a male’s antennae after the 
sideways gait probably was important in discovering how a female 
was oriented because a male was unable to adjust his course to find 
a reoriented female after antennal contact was made. Also, males 
that had difficulty moving beneath females began the next courtship 
with wing fanning, but males not contacting females recourted with 
a sideways gait and antennal contact. A differential concentration of 
pheromone along a female’s body may have informed a male of her 
orientation. A perpendicular approach to a female allowed maxi- 
mum extension of a male’s antennae along her body, thus perhaps 
facilitating a determination of her relative position. 
1 found that the receptive posture was assumed by some females 
of T. alexanderae when males approaching to court began a side- 
ways gait. Largely auditory cues, rather than visual ones, were proba- 
bly given by a male to signal his approach, thereby eliciting the 
receptive posture in a female. The sideways gait may cause stridula- 
tion of a male’s Pearman’s organs because a male approaching a 
female in this way never caused her to flee, even though he may have 
remained hidden from her view during the sideways gait. 
The purpose of the females’ genital movements and abdominal 
contractions after failed courtship is unknown. These motions were 
only observed in females involved in some phase of the mating 
process. Perhaps this action released more pheromone to attract 
males again. 
The role of the droplets (apparently containing pheromone) 
which were deposited by females is also uncertain. This behavior 
would assist a male in locating a female only if she remained in the 
area where a droplet was deposited. Because the pheromone appears 
to be highly volatile, to have any effect on males a female probably 
must deposit many of these droplets during her receptive period. 
