Copulation and male calling in the swift moth, Endoclita excrescens (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae)

Actual copulations of the swift moth, Endoclita excrescens (Butler), were recorded both in field observations at Takasaki in Kukizaki Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and in a large cage at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute during a research period from 1 September to 7 October 1999. Copulations took place during the dusk flight and the complete process of successful mating behavior in E. excrescens was observed. This demonstrates that the dusk flight of E. excrescens is the mating flight. In the beginning of the mating behavior, the female(s) flew straight toward the male(s) showing a swinglike pendulum flight around a branch of a particular tree in a particular spot. This result shows female attraction by the males (male gcallingh). Preliminary experiments suggest that females are attracted to the flying males by visual cues from a long distance and the male scent from a short distance in the final encounter. The male flight pattern including the swinglike pendulum flight may have a gcallingh function in long-range female attraction.