208 
M. Peterson 
that Temognatha chalcodera oviposition behaviour is 
even more derived than that previously described, 
since this taxon utilizes non-hostplant material to 
coat the egg, and the ovipositor has special 
receptacles to store this material. There are two 
independent aspects of T, variabilis species-group 
larval/oviposition behaviour which may have 
resulted in the evolution of their apomorphic 
oviposition type: the larval requirement to utilize 
living unfissured timber/bark; the lack of suitably 
sized crevices/fire scars in the larval host plants to 
accommodate the large eggs. The available data 
suggest that this novel oviposition behaviour has 
primarily evolved to allow T. chalcodera, and 
possibly other T. variabilis species-group taxa, to 
internally access (in an energy-efficient manner) 
living hostplants independent of heat/fire-created 
access routes, though structural/physiological and 
ecological studies of their larvae are required to 
confirm this. Finally, the precise mechanisms of site 
selection (presumably based on visual or olfactory 
cues, or both) are unknown for ovipositing T. 
chalcodera and charcoal-scraping T. bruckii females. 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I thank Dr G.M. Shea (Sydney) for assistance 
with some aspects of manuscript preparation. 
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Manuscript received 24 July 1994; accepted 13 November 
1996. 
