SCHIZURA-RUSTICA A NOTODONTID MOTH DEFOLIATING HERRANIA AND THEOBROMA SPECIES STERCULIACEAE IN COSTA-RICA

not deterrent to females in the red-egg guild and have failed to support the existence of an oviposition-deterrent pheromone.This "natural experiment'' supports these conclusions.The greatly increased incidence of multiple oviposition suggests that when host density is reduced by 3-4 orders of magnitude while population density is normal, the entire stand of hosts may demonstrate "edge effect" -at least early in the flight, when most eggs are green.Theoretically, as the flight proceeds, the presence of more red eggs should deter multiple ovipositions and perhaps encourage female dispersal.Unfortunately, it was not practical to test this prediction, given the rate of turnover of inflorescences and the rapid maturation of the many B. nigra at the Suisun site.The ability of "edge effect" to dominate the pattern of egg dispersion in this unusual situation, however, does tend to confirm that "edge effect" is a statistical consequence of female behavior; it does not clarify the evolutionary origin of that behavior.