HOST INFLUENCE ON MATING-BEHAVIOR AND SPERMATOPHORE RECEPTION CORRELATED WITH REPRODUCTIVE OUTPUT AND LONGEVITY OF FEMALE EARIAS-INSULANA (BOISDUVAL) (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE)

When mating and oviposition behavior of Earias insulana were studied i n the absence or presence of host or by providing only host odor, in c omparison to other treatments host absence caused a delayed and reduce d reproductive activity with occasional impairment of egg viability. P resence of host or its odor resulted in a short premating period and a significant increase in mating frequency, number of spermatophores tr ansferred, number of eggs oviposited, and proportion of eggs fertilize d. Compared to host odor, host accessibility had a larger impact on in sect behavior, indicating the importance of host contact. Under condit ions of host accessibility, there existed a significant and positive c orrelation between the number of spermatophores received by a female a nd both the number of eggs she oviposited and her longevity. This indi cated a role for ''male-derived nutrients'' in the reproduction of E. insulana.