314 
Psyche 
[December 
Hidalgo County, Texas, on May 19, 27, and 28, 1979. E. eriogoni 
Kieffer males and females were common in sandy, bare areas among 
the vegetation within 10-20 meters of the shoreline (Fig. 1). Males, in 
loose aggregations, were observed to be active from mid-morning to 
early afternoon. They were observed to fly just above the soil surface, 
landing and digging occasionally, and seemed to stray little from an 
area of a few square meters. Females were most abundant in areas 
where males were observed; however, no copulations were seen. 
Other females were observed primarily on low-lying vegetation. In 
most cases the females flew little. Most of their activity was devoted 
to scurrying along the soil surface, entering cracks and crevices, or 
exploring under clods of earth and other debris scattered on the soil 
surface. Female activity was restricted to early to mid morning hours; 
few were observed in the afternoon. 
Two field observations were made of E. eriogoni nesting behavior. 
At 1030 hours. May 19, we observed a female carrying its tenebrionid 
prey up a slight incline in a bare expanse of beach sand. Prey 
transport consisted of pulling the prey backwards over the sand (Fig. 
2a), or carrying it alongside, and sometimes slightly above (Fig. 2b). 
Fig. 1. Typical nesting habitat of Epyris eriogoni in southern Texas. 
