a ; i a \ UJ : a ' fc-1 ' a a tr nj _D b-1 -C * . New York State Education Department i F. TIN' 343 New York State Museum Jonx M. O-AkKK Director M 1'nuTKu l;Ki,i State Entomologist Bulletin 86 ENTOMOLOGY 23 MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK THIRD REPORT ON AQUATIC INSECTS A study conducted at the entomologic tieid station, Ithaca N. V. under the- direction I EPHRAIM PORTER FELT D.Sc. BY JAMES G. NEEDHAM Ph.D. Professor of biology, Lake Forest College KHXXETH J. MORTON F.E.S.L. Edinburgh, Scotland O. A. JOHAXXSEX .M.S. Instructor in civil engineering, Cornell University Preface 4 Introduction - Summer Food of the Bullfrog at Saranac Inn. J. G. NEKIHIAM 9 Ephemeridae. J. G. NEEDHAM .. 17 Xorth American Hydroptilidae. K. J. MORTON 63 Aquatic Nematocerous Dipi II. O. A. JOHAXXSKN 76 Explanation to the plait > 316 Legenda to text figure.-- Plates 1-37 fj Index . Me ii4:n-s , .. ALBANY NKVV YORK STATI-: EDUCATION I >I-:i'AKTM I \ I 1905 Price 80 cents S! \ll-i T XIAV Vi iKK EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Regents of the University \Vitli yours wlicn t< rm< c\|nrc \\"IIITKI.A\\ l\i:iD M.A. LI.. I). Chancellor \Y\v York 1906 ST CLAIR MCKELWAY M.A. I..II.D. LL.D. D.C.L'. Vice Chancellor Brooklyn 1908 DANIEL BEACH Ph.D. LL.D. - \Yatkins i«) 14 I'I.INV T. SKXTOX LL.D. Palmyra \()\2 T. (irn.i OKI) S.M 1 1 n M.A. C.E. LL.D. liuffalo ny.)- \\'n, I.IAM \ I..\r ri KiiAcii M.A. XowVnrk i9O<) EOGENE \. I'IIII.I'.IN LL.Ii. LL.D. New York [916 LUCIAN L. SHEDDEN LL.B. Commissioner of Education ANDREW S. DKAI-KK LL.D. Assistant Commissioners IIn\v\Ki) J. I\(M;KKS M.A. LL.D. l:irst .I |-'.I>\\AK.M J. i, MiDwix Lit.D. Second .Issistanf C<>»unissioncr An;rsTCS S. DOWNING M.A. Third .-Issistunt Commissioner Secretary to the Commissioner I IARI.AX II. HOKNKR B.A. Director of Libraries and Home Education MKIA ii. 1 )KWKV LL.D. Director of Science and State Museum JOHN M. CI.ARKF. LL.D. Chiefs of Divisions Accounts. WILLIAM MASOX Attt-ndance, JAMKS D. SULLIXAX Examinatinns, CHAF^LES F. \\"IIEKLOCK B.S. Inspections, FRANK H. WOOD M.A. Law, THOMAS E. FINEGAX M.A. Records, CHARLES E. FITCH L.H.D. Statistics, HIRAM C. CASE State Museum, Albany N. Y. Oct. 17, 1904 Hon. Andrew S. Draper Commissioner of Education, Capitol SIR : I beg to transmit herewith, for publication as a bulletin of this division, a third report on aquatic insects, entitled May Flics and Midycs of Neio York by Dr J. G. Needham, Special Assistant to the State Entomologist. Very respectfully JOHN M. CLARKE Director State of Nciv York Education Department ( 'i>\( M ISSIDNKU'S ROOM Approved for publication Oct. 24, 1904 Commissioner of Education PREFACE This, the third report upon work begun in 1900, like its predecessors, murks an important advance in knowledge. The first report, State Museum Bulletin 47, consisting of 230 pages and 36 plates, gave the life histories of about one hundred aquatic forms and characleri/ed im species and two new genera. The most important portion of this work was the monographic ac- count of the larger dragon (lies (O d o n a t a A n i s o p t e r a I . There were also valuable additions to our knowledge of the stone flies (P leco p I e r a) and (lie May Hies (E p h e m e r i d a e), and the admirable account of the Caddis flies (T r i c h o p t e r a) , by Mr Betten, deserves special mention because of its careful bio- logic treat men i of a heretofore much neglected group. The second report, Stale Museum Bulletin G8, comprised 419 pages and 52 plates and was a continuation of the preceding. The monograph of the Odonata is completed by an exhaustive account of the smaller dragon flies (Zygoptera). Among the important contributions may be mentioned: The key to Coleopterous larvae with an account of some aquatic C h ry s o m el i d a e by Dr Mac( iillivray, the discussion of cer- tain aquatic nematocerous Diptera by Dr Johanusen, and a monograph on the S i a 1 i d i d a e of the Western Hemisphere. The present report is a continuation of the work, and among its valuable features should be noted the monographic account of our May flies, a group of great importance as food for fish. The small midges, belonging to the C h i r o n o m i d a e, are very important as fish-food and have been treated exhaustively by Mr Johannsen. These three publications mark a most decided ad- vance in our knowledge of aquatic forms and, with the publica- tion of the monograph on stone flies now in preparation, a large fund of information will be availa.ble for the student of aquatic forms. This study, as was pointed out in the introduction to the first report, has been made upon broad lines with the avowed purpose of producing something of value to the fish culturist, who must first of all be able to identify aquatic forms, something well-nigh MAY FI.IKS AMI .MllKiKS OK NKW YORK •' impossible, before these reports were made public. The investi- gations of Dr S. A. Korbes of Illinois convinced him that nearly o lie-fifth of the entire amount' of food consumed by all adult lishes examined by him consisted of aquatic neuropteroid larvae, the greater part of them being the \oung °f M:'.v Hi('s- '' II1:I.V never be possible to rear aquatic insects for the purpose of feeding lish. but it certainly is feasible in some instances to provide conditions adapted to multiplication of aquatic insects, and therefore valu- able as feeding grounds for lish. The history of the shellfish in- dustry gives a little idea of the possibilities along this line. A number of years ago it was at a very low ebb, owing to unscien- tific methods in vogue and the lack of individual control. This has been changed and we now have a thriving industry producing over two million dollars i siVJOO.T^S) worth of products, accord- ing to the report of the United States Fish Commission for 1900. It is exceedingly difficult to obtain figures relating to the value of our fresh-water fishes, but a compilation from the report of the United States Fish Commission for the year 11)00 gives the total value of fresh-water fish in the Hudson river valley and Long Island at over one million dollars (fl. 192,544), and the report for 1901 places the value of fresh-water tish obtained in the State from the Great Lakes at nearly one-fourth a million (I241.91C.I. These figures, it will be observed, give no idea of the value of fresh-water fish taken in various lakes and streams throughout the State, aside from the areas mentioned a.bove. Comparing the water areas available for shellfish culture and those suitable for the development of fresh-water lish, it will be seen that there is a considerable discrepancy in favor of the latter and yet the value of the product is much smaller. It is slated that a large propor- tion of the market fish of China are grown in ponds, and that carp culture is an important industry not only in China but in Cermany. and that formerly carp were extensively reared in Fug land. Germany and Sweden, and lately France, have also done considerable along this line. It is hardly likely that this country will adopt Chinese methods, because the great' ditference in the price of labor makes i: imprac- ticable; still the proper knowledge of the conditions suitable 0 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM for the growth and multiplication of fish may put it within the power of mam to imike substantial additions to the productivity of areas under control, without great increase in the cost of man- agement. These investigations have been conducted primarily to ascertain the relations existing between fish and insects they feed upon, and the conditions necessary for the development of large amounts of fish-food. Much of the preliminary work has been accomplished. :in.l the data already obtained should prove of great service to parlies interested in fish culture, especially in making heretofore barren waters productive. E. P. FELT State Entomologist New York State Education Department New York State Museum JOHN M. CLARKE Director Bulletin 86 ENTOMOLOGY 23 MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK I. INTRODUCTION. -BY JAMES G. NEEDHAM This bulletin includes further results of the study of material gathered under the auspices of the New York entomologic field station, and is therefore complementary to bulletins 47 and 68 of this same series. Bulletin 47 contains the more general re- sults of the first field season spent at Saranac Inn, introductory keys to aquatic insect larvae, numerous life histories, and a de- tailed report of the dragonflies (O d o n a t a-A nisoptera) of New York State. Bulletin 68 contains the main results of the second field season spent at Ithaca, further life histories, detailed reports on the damselflies (Odonata-Zygoptera) of the state, on aquatic plant-beetles (C h r y s o m e 1 i d a e), on certain families of nematocerous diptera, and on American Sialididae; also, an account of the food of the brook trout in Bone pond. This bulletin contains the work of three collaborators who have labored apart on the remaining material gathered for the station. Mr O. A. Johannsen furnishes the major part, in the form of a completed review of the C h i r o n o m i d a e . Not- wiihstanding that these little gnats are enormously abundant everywhere and are of first importance among insects all'eciing fish culture, this is the first American monograph we have had dealing with the family to which Ihey belong. It is a generic ircahnent of the world fauna, iogeiher with delailc-d descriptions and life histories (mostly new) of our known species. It is a 8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM work of first importance, and will doubtless serve as a basis for future studies m this long-neglected family. Mr K. J. Morton of Edinburgh contributes a paper on the micro-caddisflies of the family Hydro ptilidae of T r i - clioptera, which is practically the beginning of the stud}7 of this group in America. My own part in this bulletin is a second contribution to the knowledge of our may-Hies. Because of the great economic im- portance of this group also, I have thought it worth while to attempt to provide American students with a better introduc- tion to the study of the group 1han has hitherto been generally available. Hence, in addition to new life histories, I have pre- pared new generic keys to both nymphs and adults, which, with the detailed explanations and figures, should enable even a novice to take up the study of this neglected group with some hope of success. I have also prepared a brief report on the summer food of the bullfrog (K a n a c a t e s b i a n a Shaw) at Sarauac Inn, and in the discussion of that food have included a number of ecological and systematic notes, among which is a new key to our genera of H e m e r o b i i d a e . I planned also to include herein a report on the stoneflies (Perl id a e) and did much work to that end: but the station collections are large, and much material has come to me from friends outside, and my manuscript has grown until it now si ems better not to include it herein, but to make a separate bulletin of it. I am therefore continuing the work with the purpose of making the next station bulletin a monograph of Xorth American Perlidae. T should be greatly obliged if American collectors who have even a few specimens would send me them for study. In this place I may add a note supplementary to bulletin 68. The " unknown tipulid larva from a spring " described on pp. 285- 286 and figured in pl.10, figs.4-5, is P e d i c i a a 1 b i v i 1 1 a Walker. Had Beling's third paper on Tipulid larvae i Yerh. zool.-hot. Ties. Wiel, vol. 3G) been available to me when I was studying this larvae, I should have been able to determine it from his keys and description. The " unknown leptid larva from rapid streams" of p.286 and pl.10, fig.l, is doubtless a MAY Ft. IKS A\l> Mllx.rs ol' XKW YoUK species of Atherix, as has been kindly indicated to me in correspondence by both Professor A. r K. Lauteiborn of Ludwigshafen. TIIK Sl'.M.MFJi. FOOD OF Till; BULLFK'0<; , i;,\NA GATES B1AXA SHAW) AT SAKAXAC I XX OVith plate 1) P.Y .IA \IKS G. NKKMII A \[ Bullfrogs are common at Saranac Inn. Any warm evening their sonorous notes may be, heard reverberating through the tamarack swamps, echoing and reechoing across Little Clear pond between Green hill and the outlet, or rising with a startling crescendo near at hand from the shallows of the reedy creek, setting the thread-rushes trembling, and fretting the face of the water with infiuitestimal wavelets, striking with wonder and admiration the ears of the stranger accustomed only to the vocal powers of the lesser civilized frogs, By day they sit in the edge of the water, stolidly basking in the sunshine, picking a straying bee or dragonfly out of the air, or lapping a floating ant or an emerging caddisfly from the surface of the water, eating much or little according to the bestowal of 1'rovidence, and when alarmed by our too close approach, plunging away with a single dilatory and awkward leap into deeper water. Their tadpoles, likewise of phenomenal size, are to be seen about the submerged timbers in Little Clear pond and creek. They are ofteiiesl observed resting upon the logs in the sunshine. Frequently. when crossing the bridge over Big Clear creek on the Otisville road during our first field season, I stopped to watch them sun- ning themselves on the submerged bridge timbers, and often dropped pebbles upon them to see them swim away. They \\ould wriggle and sidle and slide off the timbers, and then with a motion that appeared most deliberate strike a straight course obliquely downward far away across the clear deep waters of the stream, moving slowly forward h\ sculling undulations of the enormous banner like i.-iil. During July and August, 1900, I preserved (he food of a number of adult bullfrogs from Little Clear creek, taking the stomachs of chance specimens that were killed for food and preserving and 10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM cleaning the contents. Most of the specimens were obtained for me by my friend l)r O. !S. Westcott of Chicago, who was visiting the station at that time. 1 suggested that he test the efficiency of a hook and line baited with a little piece of red silk flirted near the bullfrogs' heads. He reported the capture of every specimen properly approached; said that bullfrogs are abject idiots; said that if one is not hooked at his first dash for the dangling cloth, but gets his mouth snagged, he will go for the bait again and again as eagerly as at first. It is indeed remarkable how the predatory reflexes incited by the sight of the dangling red cloth prevail over the effects of the wounds. There now remain in the IS'ew York State collection the pre- served contents of the stomachs of fifteen of these frogs, and I have studied this material, with the aid of Mr \V. H. Ferguson, and report on it here. The following table is largely the work of Mr Ferguson. I have added to it the single record published in bulletin 47 p.401, making 10 in all. The traditional account of the manner of the bullfrog's feeding pictures him sitting immobile on a bank, watching for insects passing through the air, and, when these approach, capturing them by flirting out his long, bifurcated, sticky tongue and striking them. The picture is incomplete. Doubtless he cap- tures some of the bees and hover flies and others of the fleetest insects in just this way, but the larger, heavier and slower ones he endeavors to meet half way. For instance, on the approach of a big caddisfly or a blackwing damselfly, he becomes greatly ex- cited, especially after an unsuccessful stroke at it, and leaps and plunges toward it with tongue and jaws both reaching for it. Some of the larger of his captives would not be held by the adhesiveness of his tongue without the immediate assistance of his jaws. Moreover, the greater part of his food is not obtained from the air at all, but from plants, from the ground, and from the water, and doubtless, by more deliberate methods. The cater- pillars and sawfly larvae of the table were probably picked from plants ; the beetles and millipedes from the ground ; the water striders, floating dead insects, soldierfly larvae, gnat pupae, and transforming caddisflies from the surface of the water;, and the mayfly nymph, gnat larvae and some of the snails probably from beneath the water. MAY FLIES AND !M11«:ES OF NEW YOKK 11 Miscellaneous 'rf j^ ^ ^o 'w *~r o a o a a c co Q ^ CQ ci r; ' w 2 55 w S 55 r E « ® g g -,-"-. t9 >%, - - / — .„ C3L* r*-" TO - --••--• ^ 5 i- -. -? '_~~ ~^i:~<'~ ^. ^-T"5 - M) > 1 * £1 f "? == •? hJ CQS Bpuemaqdg • rH . IM.IHluplil.l'l * ^doan.v rH rH T-H co t!JO).xlt[[lK '. • -H rH '•' wapjdg rH rH rH • • '' stnio.nijMu i • rH rH • — co BRBng rH O " . • rH 1- CO rH O 4-3 H rH C< CO -TO — f- V. ~- C rH T~ H T-H 1 1 ~- ^ T—l T-H do £ ^a •d o =2 •3 H 12 NEAV YORK STATE MUSEUM NOTES ON THE FOOD General. Leaving aside the plant fragments eaten, which were of considerable number and variety, which were obtained both from the water and the air (as shown by the presence of filamen- tous algae and a broken flower cluster in the same stomach), but which were probably all obtained accidentally along with animal food, there were present the remains of 164 animals. Of these the largest number. 1 .'!!), wore insects, 18 were snails, 3 were Crustacea, 3 were spiders, and 2 were vertebrates. The most im- portant part of the food is doubtless insects and snails; the former in great variety, the latter consisting of a single species. Leaving aside frog no. 16, whose stomach contained only a large » meadow mouse, the other 15 had eaten on an average 9 insects and 1.2 snails apiece. Of the insects eaten two were millipedes (apparently J u 1 u s , but not in condition to identify with certainty) and the remainder were hexapods. The ten orders present had the following numer- ical representation : Diptera, 42; Hymenoptera. 22; Hemiptera, 19; Coleoptera, 16; Trickoptera, 15 (not including 4 whose presence w;is evidenced only by sand sup- posed to have been derived from larval cases) ; Odonata, 11, and a large mass of eggs of Tetragoneuria; Orthop- t e r a , 6 ; N e u r o p t e r a , 3 : L o p i d o p t e r a . 2 ( larvae) ; Ephemeridae, 1 (nymph). Of these the six orders first named were present in fairly equivalent proportions, and these, with the snail, Physa heterostropha, may be said to constitute the staple food of the bullfrog in summer at Saranac Inn. The bulk of the snails eaten was certainly greater than that of the insects of any single order. The largest animal eaten was the meadow mouse, and next in size were the two craw- fishes. Vertebrates. There were two vertebrates eaten; frog no. 16 had eaten nothing but a short-tailed meadow mouse ( A r v i c o 1 a pennsylvanicus) of large size ; that was enough to fill his stomach to its full capacity. How he came by this sumptuous morsel I am unable to understand unless he found it dead and floating down the creek. Frog no. 15 had swallowed a yearling tadpole of his own species. MAY 1'i.irs AM> MIIX;I:S OK M:\V VOIIK 1-". Crustaceans. Frogs nos. 7 and 12 had each eaten a crawfish, of which there remained as evidence only the clicli|ic(ls. These indi- catcd half grown individuals o!1 (lie genus C a m b a r u s. Frog no. I." had eaten, probably by accident, a minute ;ind undeicr mined eopepod. Hymenoptera. These collections were made during ilie season of illicit of the winded males and females of the hit;- carpenter :int i < ' a m ]> o n o t u s pennsylvanicus) remains of Avhich \\ere found in nine stomachs. Thus this species occurred a greater number of times than any other. Stranded specimens were frequently seen floating down the creek, and ilie frogs ma\ as well have obtained them from the surface as from the air. Worker bumble bees (Bom bus t e r n a r i 11 s Say and 1'.. cons i m i 1 i s Cr.) were found in five stomachs, and these wen- doubtless obtained alive. The bullfrog would seem to be. like the brook trout, immune to bee poison. The other hymeiioptera were bin three; a wasp (Vespa diabolic a Sauss.) in frog no. 12, a sawfly larva in frog no. 1, and a minute parasitic hymenopler in frog No. 11. Coleoptera. Of the 16 specimens of this order eaten 12 were C a r a b i d a e (11 adults and one larva) . and there were single adults of S c a r a b a e i d a e , Chrysomelidae, and C u r - c u 1 i o n i d a e . and a single larva of E 1 a t e r i d a e . Diptera. This order was represented by the largest number of individuals, but many of them were very small. Six families were represented : T i p u 1 5 d a e , C h i r o n o m i d a e . S t r a t i o - m y i d a e , S y r p h i d a e , T a b a n i d a e , and Tacliinidae. A single adult Tabanid was eaten, two adult Tachinids, four adult S y r p h i d s , the better preserved appearing to belong to (lie genus E r i s t a 1 i s , five adult T i p u 1 i d a e . all belong- ing to moderate sized species of the genus T i p u 1 a . There was a single adult C h i r o n o m i d . but there were eleven pupae, ten of them from frog no. 14, all belonging to the genus C h i r o n o - m u s and one larva from the same frog belonging to the same genus and one belonging in Ceratopogon. A sixth family. S t r a t i o m y i i d a e . was represented by twelve larvae of S t r a t i o m y i a b a d i u s ? from frog no. 1 . Tn bulletin ^7. p.57G, I have recorded that I could find but a single specimen 14 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM of this species duriiig the season. Of the total of 42 Diptera eaten 27 were larvae and pupae, and these must have been ob- tained from the water. Trichoptera. With the single exception of the large N e u - ronia postic.a eaten by frog no. 3, all the other caddisflies were teneral iiua.gos, captured probably as they came to the sur- face in transformation. This was evidenced by the pupal skins still hanging to many of the specimens. All were in bad con- dition in consequence, and in determining them I placed chief reliance on the characters of the pupal skins. I was able to assure myself that about nine of the specimens belonged to the genus II a 1 e s u s and another to Hydropsyche. The sand found in four of the stomachs scnm-d to indicate that larvae in their cases had been eaten earlier and entirely digested. Larvae of F o 1 y c e n t r o p u s 1 u c i d u s and Molanna cinerea are sufficiently available in Little Clear creek. I have shown in bulletin 68 that the brook trout in Bone pond swallow the larvae of another species case and all. Odonata. Drangonflies constituted as large a part of the food as any other single group of insects. Although the number was but eleven, the size of the individuals was relatively large, the adult A e s c h n a and the nymph of A n a x being among the largest insects eaten. Four adult and apparently fully colored blackwings, C a 1 o p t e r y x m a c u 1 a t a, two adults of A r g i a v i o 1 a c e a and single undetermined specimens of L e s t e s, E n a 1 1 a g m a and JE s c h n a make up the list, together with a nymph of Anax junius and an undetermined nymph of the subfamily A.grioninae. The adults, so far as might be determined, were all females and might have been obtained while ovipositing. Frog no. 4 had swallowed a considerable mass of eggs of Tetragoneuria. In bulletin 47, pp.490-492 (with fig.19) I have given an account of these eggs. The frog probably found a cluster unusually close in shore. Hemiptera. The water skaters (Hydrotrechus sp?) constitute an important and fairly constant element of the food, 16 of the 19 specimens found being of this genus. Orthoptera, Five grasshoppers were found singly, the one in condition fit for determination being Melanoplus femo- MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 15 r a t u s and one grouse locust. < 'onsidtTiug the abundance of these about the edges of the creek, I \\assomewhal surprised ilial more had not been cairn. As many as this ma\ easily have been jiickcd 1'roin the surface of I he water. Lepidoptera. Two moth larvae only. Epliemeridae. A single nymph of S i p U 1 u r u s alter n a t u s Say was eaten by frog no. 14. It must have been taken beneath the surface of the water as these nymphs do not come to the surface, so far as I have observed, except to transform, and this one was not ready for transformation. I have given an ac- count of the habits of the nymph of this species in bulletin 47 p.4:M. It was a surprise to me that no adult May flies were eaten. Neuroptera. Amphibian stomachs offer a new field for collect- ing representatives of this order, a field in which I have made some of my best finds, and that in a very little material. I found S i s y r a u m b r a t a Ndm. first in the stomach of a tree frog, as recorded in Psyche vol.10, p.29, and these bullfrog stomachs contained specimens of a new species of Micromus, and of Climacia dictyona Xdm. and Hemerobius a m i c u 1 u s Fitch, — single specimens of each. SYSTEMATIC NOTES ON HEMEROBIIDAE Micromus jonas sp.nov. Allied to M . a n g u 1 a t u s , but smaller; expanse 10mm. Known only from its wings, bur these alone will distinguish it (pi .3, fig-2). The fore wing is 4.7mm. long and 1'mm. wide, with front and hind margins nearly parallel in their middle third. Their color is rich fulvous, Avith darker fuscous oblique streaks along the line of both the gradate series, and less distinct, more transverse marmorate lines between, which become arcuate where they traverse the bases of Ihe apical forks beyond the second gradate series; hind wings pale fulvous about margins, the disc transparent, and the veins traversing it very angulate in their course with crossveins incomplete, (li-adate veins in fore wing; inner series .~. outer series I .": in hind wing; inner series. .", I. outer series 3-4. Saranac Inn, N. Y. Taken from bullfrog stomach (no.9 of table) in July, 1000. 16 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM I have in hand a stud}* of the venation of the H e m e r o - biidae. This material, especially II e m e r o b i u s amicu- 1 u s Fitch, and another of Fitch's rare species, H . o c c i - deutalis from Illinois (which I have recently received from Wisconsin), together with other species of H e in e r o b i u s col- lected at Saranac1 Inn, Ithaca and in Illinois, have 1 1n-own some lig-ht on the evolution of the peculiar Hemerobian type of venation. .My study will in due lime be published elsewhere when it is com- pleted ; and i lie results to be noted here are merely that H . a m i - c ul us Fitch and II. occidental is Fitch represent two stages in the (volution of the type which should be marked by generic rank. I therefore < haracteri/.e them here and in the form of • i key, bemuse the key to 1 1 e in e r o b i i d a e in bulletin 47 was not made complete for our genera : KEY TO THE GENERA OF HEMEROBIIDAE a Brandies of UK- radial sector arising (/. ' .. sepa- rating fi'oni vein II,) by a common stalk b With three ocelli D i 1 a r 1)1) With no ocelli c Humeral rmssvein (the basal costal cross- vein) simple and not recurrent d Some of the branches of vein Cu, forked. . S i s y r a 1) Humeral crossvein recurrent and with brandies on its outer side c First division of the radial sector arising before or opposite the basal subcostal crossvein ; in the hind wing the vein Mj+2 is well separated from the base of the radial sector, with a distinct crossvein between (1 A closed cell in the first fork of the radius before the base of the second division of the sector (pl.2, fig.2); front coxae longer than the femora Spad'obius n. gen. type H. occidental! s Fitch MAY K!.li:s AM) MIIKIKS UK XK\V YoKK IT rk «[' Ihe r:nli;il sector iiei'oiv the base of the second divi- sion of the sector ipl.o, lig.3); coxae of fore legs shorter than femora 1' a 1 in u 1) i u s n. tfen. type 11. ami <• n 1 u s Fitch cc First of the three or four divisions of the radial sector arising well beyond the hasal snli- cosi;il erossvein (pl.i!, lig.l); iu the hind wing vein MJ™ is more or less coiitluent with the base of the radial sector, elimi- nating or reducing the crossvein be- tween 1 1 e m e r o b i u s EPHEMERIDAE i;\ JAMES G. NEEUIIAM Cilice the publication of Museum Bulletin 47 little atteution has beeu given by the workers at the Entomologic Field (Station to the collection and rearing of mayflies. Incidentally, however, a number of new and most interesting forms have been brought together, and nine additional species representing as many addi- tional genera have been reared — mostly b}' Mr Betten and myself during the summer of 1901 at Ithaca. It is the purpose of this paper to give the results of new life history studies, and also new keys for both adults and nymphs, that shall serve as a better introduction to the study of this interesting group. That the group is of great economic importance in water culture i here can be no doubt. 1'ast food studies have demonstrated this; and every aquatic collector has found the waters teeming with the immature stages. There are mayfly nymphs for every sort of situation in fresh water, and they are almost everywhere abundant. These are perhaps the dominant insect herbivores of fresh water. Notwithstanding their ecological interest, the won- derful ways in which they have adapted themselves to diverse modes of life in different sorts of places, and their singular, though fragile, beauty, their study is very much neglected among us. It is in the hope of interesting more of our field workers in them that I have added to the life histories and descriptions, the keys and text figures of the present paper. Few life histories of American species, whose nymphs have been positively determined by rearing, have as yet been written. Tin- singular nymph of T5 a e t i s c a obesa Say has long boon 18 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM *. known, having been described by Walsh, its discoverer, and by Vayssiere and Eaton. In bulletin 47 I described the nymphs (having in each case bred the species) of Heptagenia p u 1 c h e 1 1 a Walsh, Baetis pygmaea Hagen, S i p h 1 u - r u s alternatus Say, Ephemerella excrucians Walsh, Caeuis diminuta Walker, Hexagenia v a r i a- bills Eaton, and Ephemera varia Eaton. In the Ameri- can Naturalist for IDOo, pp.25-31 of vol.ol, Mr Edward \V. Berry described the nymphs of ?Habrophlebia aniericana Banks, Blasturus cupidus Say and C a 1 1 i b a e t i s f e r- ruginea Wnlsh, and in Bulk-tin 68 I described the nymph of C a 1 1 i b a e t i s s k o k i a u a Xeedham. That is all the bred species that have hitherto been described in America, so far as I know. In the following pages I describe the nymphs of the following eight bred species, representing as many genera : Cliiroten- etes albomauicatus sp. nov. C h o r o t e r p e s b a s a - 1 i s Banks, Leptophlebia praepedita Eaton, Caeuis a 1 1 e c t a sp. uov., Ameletus ludenssp. nov. Ephem- erella bispiuasp. nov., Heptagenia interpunctata Say, and Ecdyurus maculipeuuis Walsh, Mr W. E. Howard furnishing an account of the life history of P o 1 y in i - tarcys albus Say, which he has studied at Ottawa 111., but which I have not seen at large. I add thereto descriptions of five additional species which have not been bred, but to which the names of native genera are assigned tentatively. Some of the above descriptions are generic rather than specific : the study of the nymphs in some genera has hardly gotten down to the species as yet. Representatives of all these genera are de- scribed and figured in Eaton's Monograph of Recent Ephemcridae, at least two of them being tentatively referred to the wrong gen- era, however. But the excellent and copious figures of that work make it possible to refer the five species of unbred nymphs to their genera with some degree of assurance. I have published directions for collecting and rearing nymphs of mayflies elsewhere,1 but while speaking of life histories I would not omit to mention how easy it is to get life-history material in iPart 0 of Bull. 39, U. S. National Miiseum. MAY I'M. IKS AND MllxJKS OF NEW YORK 19 this group. As is well known, there is with ma \llies one moult clui-ing adult life. The nymph, transforming, leaves the water as a subimago. and later moults again and heroines the imago. The sul >imago si age lasts I ml a lit I le while 1m t a few minutes with the most ephemeral species, about a day with the majority of species. two days with S i p h 1 u r u s a 1 I e r n a t u s kept indoors — being much more brief than is the period of transformation of even those species that are most concerted in t ime of appearance on the wing. It follows from this that when one finds subimagos Hying, he can go to the water whence they came and be rather sure of finding, with proper searching, the full-grown nymphs. The subimagos may be recognixed by their generally duller coloration, and the possession of fringes of hairs around the wing border (present in the imago of C a e n i s only among our forms) . Grown nymphs may be placed in any sort of a dish of water near a window out of the direct sunlight to transform. The subimagos picked from the window later may be put in paper bags and left to moult again. All stages are best preserved directly in alcohol of about 80 per cent strength. Besides the material for this paper collected by myself and Mr Betten at Ithaca N. Y. and Lake Forest 111., and that furnished me from the State Museum collection by Dr Felt, I have received material used herein from Professor T. D. A. Cockerell collected at Pecos New Mexico, from Ihe late Mr R. J. Weith, collected at Elkhart Indiana, from Mr Chauncey Juday, collected at Twin Lakes Colorado, and from Mrs Mary Rogers Miller, collected at Thousand Island Park X. Y., for all of which I return grateful acknowledgment. For the use of the following keys a little more knowledge of mayfly structure is likely to be required lhan the average text- book of entomology affords. A knowledge of the names of the parts of the body and legs of the typical insect will be assumed; also, of the principal mouth parts and antennae. It should be known that the male is readily distinguished from the female by the possession of much larger compound e\es, these always being remote from each other in the female, and by the possession of a pair of jointed appendages called forceps that project backward from beneath the penultimate segment of the abdomen. The two 20 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM or three filiform appendages which terminate the abdomen are here called caudal setae. The tarsi are typically five-jointed in the adult, though one or two basal joints show a marked tendency to fuse with the end of the tibia, and the last joint bears two claws of vari- able form (Fig.5) ; in the nymph the tarsus is one- jointed and lx*ars a single claw (Plate 6, fig. 7 and S). The mouth parts in the adult are atrophied and functionless, while in the nymph they are highly developed. But one feature of them needs mention here, however; that is the armature of the mandible. By comparing pl.G, fig.4, and pl.S, fig.G, it will be seen Fig. 1 Venation of the wings of Siphlurus; lettering explained in text that each mandible bears on its inner side a broad more or less corrugated molar surface, and at its antero-lateral angle several variable canines.1 To the venation of the wings the student who aspires to an acquaintance with mayflies would do well to pay special heed. This is of chief importance because 1) the venation is perfectly definite and easily observed; 2) it suffers least distortion in pre- served specimens; 3) it remains the same through the different developmental stages, and 4) the wings are better retained than the other appendages, and progress is better in using a key if the structures mentioned in it have not been lost. The main features 1 Following the terminology of Vayssiere for these parts. Organisation des larves des Ephemerines: Ann. Sci. Nat. (G) vol.13. 1882. MAY FUKS AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 21 of the \enation are easily learned, and afford a ready clue (o the relationships. Katon says, "Unstable in minutiae, so closely is i he essential jdan of the neuration adhered to by nearU relaled niayilies that the general fades of the wing is an important aid io their classification, affording characteristics as easily recog- nizable as the style of brandling in the case of trees." I!y reference to ligs.l, 2 or 3, or any of the wing figures of the jdates. it will be observed that there are three nearly parallel veins extending along the front or costal margin of the wing, costa (C), snbcosta (#c), and radius (jRJ. These three are fol- lowed by three forking veins that occupy the greater part of the wing area, the radial sector (Rs), the media (M) and the cubit us i Or). The middle one of these, the media, forking usually far- itr. 2 Wings of Callibaetis ilier outward than the others and being more constant in form, is one of the best landmarks of the wing. All that lies between it and vein L\ is radial sector, which, in the fore wings of may- Hies, is entirely detached from the radius and functions as a t separate vein. The only place in the series where there is likely to be any difficulty in recognizing the media is in the few genera closely allied to P.aetis isee fig.2) in which both the media and the f-iibitns are apparently simple; but it will be readily observed by carefully noting the number and relation of the longitudinal veins that the hinder branch of the fork of these two veins is detached, and appears as an independent sector standing on the hinder side; the relative lengths of these veins enable one to recog- nize them all, even when detached, or when, through shifting of cross veins at their bases, they appear to have formed attach- ments of a contradictory sort (see vein Cu-z in pi. 8. fig.O). These 22 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM three forked veins are followed by three typically simple veins, the first, second and third anal veins, which occupy the smaller area of the hind angle of the wing. There is much variability in this region in the different genera, and it is highly important that these three veins be certainly recognized; to do this it is only necessary to count off the three longitudinal veins of the cubitus — the two branches (Ci^ and C»o) and the bisector of the cubital fork — back of the media, and these three will be the three best developed veins remaining. In the keys the short, incon- stant interpolated longitudinal veins arc called inter calaries, and that whether they become attached to principal veins or branches or remain independent; and the irregular veins about the margin Fig. 3 Venation of the fore wing of Ephemera of the wing are called veinlets. The length of the media is meas- ured on vein M.,. The fore wing is meant in the key except where the hind wing is specified. Fig. 3 shows the unilateral forking of the cubital vein and the divergence of the cubital and first anal veins at base, characteristic of the subfamily Ephemerinae. KEY TO THE GENERA OF MAYFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA Inidfios a The cubital and first anal veins strongly divergent at the base (fig.3). Venation never greatly reduced Ephemerinae T) The fork of the median vein very deep, almost reaching the wing base; two long simple intercalaries between the first and second anal veins. In the hind wing the vein R5 separates from vein R, close beside and therefore is little longer than the next branch of the radial sector Campsurus 66 The median vein forked for not more than three fourths of its length ; in the hind wing the vein R5 arises much in advance of other branches of the sector, being much longer than any of them MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 23 c Between the lirst .-Hid second anal veins is a bunch of 3-4 long, straight inliTealaries. conjoined hasally l>ol'ore their attachment to llu« principal veins: (he second anal vein nearly straight and unbranched Po 1 y m i t a r cy s CC Between the lirst and second anal veins are only shorter, simiati-, and slum-times forking interealaries, attached directly to the first anal ; the second anal vein sinuate and often branched (fig.3) (/ The median vein forked % to % its length; vein Cu2 not more st rongly bent at base than the first anal Euthyplocia (/ Mllti.'KS (»!•' NKW YolIK -•"• // Tn (ho hind wing the subcostal vein terminates in tin- cost :i at hardly more than half tin- length of the wing, just he\ OIK! tlio obtuse aiigulalion li:i\mir a thickened margin : forceps of male more or less His tiiirtly four-jointed Choroterpes //// Vein M, and the bisector of the cubital fork both tending to attach themselves to the posterior branch of their respective forks; between the latter and vein «'u. are -enerally some short inlercalaries (the cubital region thus being better developed than in group // i ; caudal setae about as long as the body; penulti- mate segment of the male forceps longer than the antepenultimate / Veins Cu: and 1st A separate to base. .Ephmerella 7i Veins Cu, and 1st .4. fused toward the base D r u n e 1 1 a geu. nov. gg Hind wings absent C a e n i s ff The intercalates between the first and second anal veins repre- sented by a series of veinlets, often sinuous or forking, extending directly from the first anal to the wing margin ; costal angulation of hind wing close to the base; but two well-developed caudal setae, the median one being rudi- mentary or wanting; basal joint of hind tarsi evident but not well developed // Median caudal seta, a distinctly segmented rudiment (pl.6, fig.l); forceps of male three-jointed; posterior pro- longation of sternum of ninth segment of abdomen of female bifid at tip // 1'asal segment of fore tarsus of male shortest; claws of each tarsus unlike each to each; hind wing with the costal angulation acute, and the fork of the median vein occupying two thirds the length of that vein C o 1 o b u r 1 1 s lih Basal segment of fore tarsus of the male longest; claws of each tarsus alike; hind wing with the costal angula- tion obtuse, and the median vein forked through one third it? length C h i r o t e n e t e s is bifid apically as in the imago, but not declined at the tip. The eyes of the male are not contiguous, and the for- ceps limbs are straight, and surpass the tip of the rudimentary middle seta by the length of the latter. £ imago. Thorax brownish, abdomen rufescent; head pale lutescent below, rufescent above between the black-ringed ocelli and the eyes. Thorax darker brown above and below and paler along the sides, but without definite markings. Fore legs bright rufous, with wholly white tarsi ; middle and hind legs wholly pale whitish. Wings hyaline. Abdominal segments rufous, trans- verse apical carinae and lateral margin distinctly lineate with blackish brown ; segment 10 paler, yellowish rufescent, strongly produced backward above in a 'broad obtusely truncated superior MAY FI.IKS AM> MIIMIKS OK NK\V YORK 33 lobe. Along the sides of the abdomen is an interrupted line of black dashes on the lateral margin and there is a minute black- dot .above the anterior end of each dash on either side of each segment. Setae white, slightly tinged with yellowish on basal segments, but not ringed. Forceps (pi. (5, fig.l ) long and arcuate, the basal segment of each limb feebly differentiated; coloration pale yellowish white, slightly infuscated in the middle. $ imago. (Plate .">, fig.l ). Head above whitish or very pale lute- ous ; ocelli ringed with black; a black spot beneath each eye and another at its hind angle above upon a minute triangular back- ward prominence of the occipital margin. Thorax tawny yellowish brown above, the hind margins of the tergal sclerites narrowly margined with blackish brown; venter deeper brown. Wings and legs colored as in the male. Abdomen brownish rufescent, less rufous than in the male, but with the apical lateral margins more distinctly lineate with blackish brown. Segment 10 pale, pro- duced .above into a posterior rounded loibe. Segment 9 produced below in a long acutely bifid lamina, decurved at the apex, and surpassing the level of the tip of the superior lobe on segment 10. A noteworthy feature of both subimago and imago, hitherto ap- parently unnoticed in any mayfly, is the persistence of the maxil- lary and coxal gill tufts of the nymph. These are present as conspicuous blackish tufts on the inner sides of the front coxae and at the sides of the atrophied maxillae. They are most con- spicuous (probably because less dessicated) in the subimago, but the constituent filaments, filled with black pigment, are easily recognized in either. The nymph. ( Plate r>. figs. 3 and 4) . Length of full grown female 13 mm., antenna 4 mm. and seta 7 mm. additional. Body rather stout, thorax slightly compressed, abdomen strongly depressed and upcurved posteriorly, its sides parallel as far as the seventh segment, and distinctly wider than head and thorax, then tapering to the base of the stout setae. Integument strongly chitinized. Head short Avith vertical face, evenly contoured above, covered at the sides by the low, broad, well-rounded eyes. Middle ocellus directlv in front but the other two visible from a.bove. A median frontal vertical carina below the middle ocellus ends in a stout, sharp downwardly directed triangular spine. Antenna (Plate 0. fig.O) stout, naked, basal segment stouter and paler, the shorter segments immediately succeeding brownish, the succeeding seg- ments again pale to the tip, Mouth parts unusually hairy, the 34 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM • somewhat quadrangular labruni covered above with stout bristles and fringed beyond the bristles around its border with copious soft yellowish hairs (pl.fi, fig.2). Labium with two jointed palpi of singular form, the basal joint of each cylindric, naked; the second joint twice as long, flattened, its inner margin straight, its outer margin arcuate, its exterior border closely beset with a single linear series of long thin setae, its apex bearing a minute obtuse inwardly directed prominence, set off by a minute notch from the inner margin, and perhaps representing the remains of a palpal segment (pl.G, flg.3). Galea and laciuia hairy beneath, the latter less than half as large as the former and more triangular in outline. Mandible naked (pl.G, fig.4), the outer canine tridentate at tip, the inner one spine-like, but with a flat margin on one side below overlapping the palp. Maxilla (pl.G, fig.5) with palpus two-jointed and similar in form to the labial palpus; end of lacinia terminating in a long straight spine; a copious tuft of gill filaments takes origin under the base of the stipes. Thorax strongly arched dor-sally and slightly flattened laterally. Legs short and stout, the tibia longest in the fore leg, where one third longer than the femur, decreasing in length successively on middle and hind legs. Fore legs with a remarka.ble develop- ment of stiff fringes of tawny hairs, a single ventral fringe on the femur, a double fringe beneath the tibia, the basal portion containing hairs as long as the combined tibia and tarsus, but the length of the fringe diminishing apically, and a ranch shorter single fringe beneath the tarsus. There is also on the fore leg a single elongate and flattened tibial sppr, more than hal* oo lorig as the tarsus, and strongly recalling by its AilU ^structure the flat spur on the swimming legs or the diving beetle Cybister (pl.fi, fig.7). The single tarsal claw is short and arcuate and denticulate on its inferior margin; on middle and hind tarsi the claw acquires a special convexity on the basal part of its inferior denticulate surface, especially marked in the hind tarsus (pl.6, fig.9). There is a large tuft of several times forked gill filaments attached to the base of the fore coxa within. Abdomen cylindric at base, becoming depressed and upcurved posteriorly and laterally carinate, the lateral margins on seg- ments 8 and 9 ending in long, straight, sharp lateral spines, half as long as their respective segments. There are minute and i^- conspicuous lateral spines also on segments 1 to 7, hardly more than acute angles on 1-4. Gills on segments 1-7, covered by obo- vate protecting lamellae (Plate 6, fig.lO), which are slightly oblique, increase slightly in size on segments 1-3 and are equal on 4-7. Each lamella has the front margin, the MAY FI.1KX AND MllHiKS OK NKNV YORK 35 base of the hind margin and a. diagonal superior carina strongly chitinized. The purplish white-lipped gills are clustered in small Hat Infts of 2-3 times branched lila- nieuts attached to the bases of the lamellae, and they are shorter than the shortest of the lamellae. Setae stout in basal half, with dense internal fringes of tawny hair. There is a darker band across the middle beyond which the tips are slenderer, and the fringes disappear, the whitish tips being bare. Color, rich chocolate brown above, paler below and on sutures, a pale median stripe extending upward from the mouth over the head and ending upon the prothorax. Tibiae and tarsi pale with broad median rings of brown. The fore legs are widest apart and the middle ones most approx- imate at base. The dates of my bred specimens are July 12, 14 and 19, 1901. Transformation takes place at the surface of tbe water as in other species, and tbe subimago stage continues about 24 hours. On warm nights in midsummer subimagos swarmed into my trap lanterns above Fall creek, Ithaca, but no images came to them. Images were easily taken along tbe sides of the gorges anywhere, sitting rigidly, their white fore feet extending full length forward; so they wrould sit and allow themselves to be picked up witb the fingers. This is a fine species, interesting for the agility of the nymph in the water and for the rich coloration and striking attitude of the adult. Food. "NYith a view to more accurately determining what is the food of this species I had microscopic mounts made of the cleared stomach contents of nine well grown nymphs from Fall creek. Plant remains constituted in all cases fully half of the stomach contents — in some cases a much greater proportion. There were recognizable remains of numerous Cyanophy- ceae and other algae, and numerous stalked diatoms of the Gomphonema group (which may have been taken in with the larger plant stems to which they were attached), but the greater part was a brownish mass of remains of the decaying leaves of higher plants. That Sinmlium larvae had been eaten by four of the nymphs was determined by the presence of isolated rays of the fans. Ecdyurus m a c u 1 i p e n n i s nymphs, common in the stream and of favorable size for the food of this species, had been eaten by at least seven of the speci- 3G NEW YORK STATE Ml'SKl'M mens examined, as evidenced by the presence of recognizable re- mains; the claw (fig.ll) or the curiously coiled malpighian tubules, or the outer canine of the mandible (tig.Di). Nymphs of some species of Caen is had been eaten by four, and a small platode and a very young nymph of 0 h i r o;t e n e t e s by a single specimen. Ameletus ludens sp. nov. The genus Ameletus has not hitherto been known east- ward of the Rocky mountains. It is represented in the State Museum collection at Albany by a number of nymphs and two .... Fig. 5 Ameletus ludens sp. nov., female subimago; u, end of abdomen below, showing truncate apical lobe of the 9th sternum ; v, fore tibia and tarsus bred female suibimagos taken by Mr. D. B. Young at Newport, N. Y. on the 22d of May 1902. They were found in the head- waters of a small, swift stream, elevation about 000 feet, in the Hasenclever hills, a spur of the Adirondacks. Female subimago. Length, 9 num.; setae, 6 mm. additional; wing, 8 mm. Color obscure 'brownish, paler on the sutures and below; antennae darker toward the tip; incomplete dark-brownish rings about the ocelli; on the vertex a pair of longitudinal black- ish marks, confluent in the middle ; a broad median whitish tract upon the mesothorax, produced behind and dilated at the sides; subapical paler bands on the femora, the tips again darker; wings uniformly pale fumose, the venation is shown in pl.S, fig.9; brown marks on the ventral ganglia, becoming more evident posteriorly. MAY FLIES AND Ml DUES OF NEW YORK 37 The accompanying text figures will facilitate the recognition of this species when more and better specimens are at hand. This species is a typical representative of A in e 1 e t u s , agreeing in. close detail with the generic characters set forth in Eaton's Monograph p. 210, but it is smaller than any of its con- geners. Its nymph is apparently the one figured by Eaton on pi. 49 of his Monograph, and referred to 0 h i r o t e n e t e s . The nymph. ( IM.T. fig.l.) Length, U.5 mm.; antennae, 1 mm. and setae, 4 mm. additional. Body elongate, \rith vertical face, arched thorax, depressed and tapering abdomen. Antennae short, T?ig. 6 Parts of nymph of Ameletus In dens sp. nov. ; y, maxilla: /., single gill lamella from one of the middle abdominal segments taipering, bare; ocelli in front; labrum quadrangular, a little longer than wide, emarginate in front, where f ringed "with fine jilumose hairs. Mandibles stout, triangular beyond the molar surface. l>earing the canines upon the prominent apex, outer canine more ihan twice as large as the inner, the latter preceded by a slender subulate spine on the distal margin. Maxilla with a very weak and slender and obscurely three-jointed palpus. The comibined lacinia and galea obscurely trape/.oidal. the tip of the former indicated by a short, slender and sharp spine, the distal border of the galea fringed densely with a series of strongly arched, regularly graduated and iM-aiitifully pectinated hooks (fig.Gr). Labi u in with better developed, three-jointed palpi, 38 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM cultriform galeae, fringed with spiuules externally, and broadly triangular laciniae, separate to the base. 1'rothorax rather short, closely applied to the front of the large niesothorax ; wing cases reaching llie apex of the second abdominal segment. Legs rather short, stout, pale, with darker lines upon the sutures, the darkest one at the base of the claw. Abdomen gradually tapering, gracefully upcurving ill the rear. Gill laminae on segments 1-7. similar in form on all the seg- ments (tig.ti: i ; smallest on segment 1, largest on segment 6, obo- vate, with a somewhat thickened front margin, and a longitudinal dorsal chit inons ridge. There are no free gill tilaments attached to lamellae. Lateral spines mi segments 1 !» straight, sharp, increas- ing in si/e posteriorly. Setae rather short and stout, equal, fringed copiously within, traversed by a broad distinct band of brown which occupies their middle third, and slightly washed with brown again at the extreme lips. This nymph differs from the one figured by Eaton (pl.4!l, Monograph) in having the middle lobe of the tongue (hypop- harynx) bilobed. This genus differs from all others as yet known except T h r a u 1 u s in the possession of a pectinated fringe on the distal border of the galea of the maxilla. Choroterpes basalis Banks This species 1 have studied in the Fall creek gorge beside the Cornell Insectary at Ithaca. It is a very common species there. The nymph is found among the smaller stones in the side cur- rents of the creek in the bottom of the gorge, associated with other nymphs of 10 c d y u r u s m a c u 1 i p e n n i s , B a e t i s , C a e n i s etc. It clambers about under these stones, and when they are lifted out of the water it is easily picked off by hand. The form of the gill tips i Plate 8, flg.8) will instantly distinguish it from all others in the stream. Imagos were abundant about the middle of July. My bred specimens are dated July 14, 1901. Xot many images were ob- served at large except on early afternoons, when the sunshine was warm and bright. Then they would swarm out in the open- ing of the gorge, and dance high up in the air between the banks of green in myriads. Rising and falling in rapid undulations, moving in large companies up and down the gorge, they rarely descended low enough to bring the lowermost within the reach M\Y FLIES AND MIUCKS OF NEW YORK of the net; and when by climbing on a big rock in the opening I captured a net full of them I found they were all males. About the same time also subimagos swarmed into my trap lanterns that overhung Fall creek, and a few imagos with them. The nymph, i IM.7. fig.2.) Length, 7 mm.; antennae, 3 mm., and setae. 7..""> mm. additional, P.ody strongly depressed, widest across the rather prominent mesothorax. Head flattened above; eyes round, prominent, situated just before the hind margin. Antennae situated midway the length of the head, which before them is pilot shaped, dilated at the sides and sharp-edged. Ocelli three, rather large, situated in a nearly straight transverse row in the male, in a triangle in the female. La;brmn half as long as broad, widened anteriorly, rounded on the anterior angles and deeply emarginated in front, where fringed with short stiff bris- tles (pl.8. fig. •">.). Mandible (pl.8, fi,g.f>t stout, its two canines each tridentate on tip, its palp deeply bifid; on the inner margin just before the molar surface is a low conic tubercle. Maxilla (pl.8, fig.4) short and stout, the palpus two-jointed, the consolidated galea and lacinia squarish, the tip of the former ending in a long and distinctly pectinated spine, the inner and distal margins densely fringed with slender hairs. Labium ('pl.8, fig.3) with three jointed palpi, the broad galeae and the narrow laciniae with their tips on a level, and densely fringed with spinules, the spin- ules on the laciniae being stouter. Thorax depressed, increasing in width to the bases of the wings. The wing cases reach the base of the fifth abdominal segment. The legs are rather short and stout, with flattened and dilated femora and slender tibiae, pale with a more or less complete brownish ring beyond the middle of the femora and some fainter markings at the knees. Abdomen depressed, regularly tapering from the third seg- ment to the end, segments slightly increasing in length to the ninth, the tenth somewhat more than half as long as the ninth, produced above in a rounded lobe with a narrow blackish border that is interrupted by paler in the middle of the margin. There are sharp, triangular lateral spines on segments 4-9, increasing in length and sharpness on the succeeding segments, represented on segments L* and 3 by mere angles of the fiat margin, on 8 one fourth as long as the segment, dills very peculiar; on segment 1 a simple linear or slightly tapering filament (pl.S, tig.7 I that is fully as long as the succeeding lamellae; on "2-7 double, hmielli- form, with pinnately branching tracheae; each of the pair of lamellae is typically three-loln-d ; the middle lobe of the upper- most la.melJa is itself lamelliform, oval or oblong, separated by 40 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM marginal notches from the two other lesser loin's (pl.S, fig.8). The middle lobe of the lower lamella is likewise Hat, but narrow, linear, and with a belter development of the two other lobes at its base. There is a slight decrease in length on segments 2-7; and on l', and again on 7, the anterior of the three lobes of the upper lamella is scarcely developed. Setae three, fragile, slender, with minute apical whorls (>f spinules on the segments. Color olivaceous brown above, with a variable middle pale line, fenestrate upon the dorsum of the abdomen with paler olivaceous. I'.elow, with a broad pale median area. Several of my nymphs from Fall creek have colonial Vorticel- lidae attached promiscuously about the dorsum, or aggregated about the bases of the setae. Pl.S. fig.l. shows the venation and tig.L' of the same plate shows the form of the appendages of the male imago in this species. Baetis pygmaea Ha gen This dainty little maytly, which I described in bulletin 47 (pp. 421 iL'.'t, pi. 15, fig.l o and 14), I bred also from nymphs obtained in Fall creek with those of the preceding species, and I took a few specimens of the imagos in trap lanterns hung about the creek during July 1001. Callibaetis skokiana Xeedham I wish to record here concerning this species that I have made a careful examination of microscopic mounts of the stomach con- tents of ten well-grown nymphs taken from the (Jym pond on the campus of Lake Forest College in Illinois, and have found them containing no recognizable animal remains whatever, but only remains of plant tissues. chieHy the disintegrating fragments of the dead leaves of the higher plants, such as litter from the pond bottom, with a scanty sprinkling of algae — Cy a n o p h y- ceae and stalked diatoms. Blasturus cupidus Say I have found his species common in Six Mile creek at Ithaca, where I bred it in 1807. I have apparently identical nymphs in my collection from Elkhart, Indiana, and Raleigh, North Caro- lina. The images of this genus appear in late spring. As be- fore remarked, Berry has described the nymph in the American MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK Naturalist vol. 37, pp.27-29, 1 !><>:'>. It will be at once distin- guished from all other genera by the form of the gill lamellae, Fig. 7 Gill lamellae of the nymph of Blasturus cupidus Say; e, from the 1st segment ; f, from the 4th segment Jg, from the.Tth.segment a figure of which is herewith given (fig.7). There are well-de- veloped lateral spines present on abdominal segments 8 and 9 only. Ephemerella This is one of the genera of E p h e m e r i d a e that shows great nymphal specialization independently of adult life, The nymphs are obviously very diverse in form and structure; the irnagos very much alike, or else their differences are easily over- looked. Eaton pointed out in his Monograph the remarkable differences between the nymph which I have since bred and shown in bulletin 47 to be that of E. excrucians, and that of the European E. i g n i t a; , the only bred species with which he was acquainted. He referred to this nymph as a new un- named genus allied to Ephemerella; but it is the nymph of the typical species. I describe herein the nymphs of two native species closely allied to E. ignita. I have compared both nymphs and adults with E. excrucians. I have not found differences that would seem to justify the generic separa- tion of the imagos; and notwithstanding the evident differences of the nymphs, I think they may as well, for the present, at least, remain associated together under the one name. The nymphal differences are chiefly in the number and arrangement of the gill lamellae, and these things are perhaps most subject to the influence of environment. 42 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Among the other four North American nymphs described by Eaton are two that will doubtless represent good and distinct genera; and one of these I have been able to identify; for it I erect the new genus DruneUa. The structural relations between the American nymphs of the Ephemerella alli- ance described by Eaton and those I have since obtained may be set forth by means of the following key: a Antennae inserted in deep angular notches in the front margin of the frons; dorsal hooks of abdomen wanting; nymph from Colorado, imago unknown1 aa Antennae inserted upon the upper surface of the frons; dorsal hooks hooks more or less developed in a double row upon the abdomen 6 Head armed with high occipital tubercles; hind wings visible at the sides below the fore wings D r u u e 1 1 a gen. nov. b& Head smooth above; hind wings visible on the dorsuiu between the bases of the fore wings c Gill lamellae present on abdominal segments 3-7 d Front femora strongly tul.eivulate on inner margin; lateral spines of abdominal segments poorly developed, the abdominal margin not serrate. Eaton's no. I from Washington2 ; imago unknown dd Front femora smooth on inner margin; lateral spines of abdom- inal segments strongly developed e Dorsal hooks of abdomen erect, high, strongly developed Ephemerella bispina sp. nov. ee Dorsal hooks of abdomen slightly developed, hardly elevated above the surface. 1'nknown species from New York (p.45) cc Gill lamellae present on abdominal segments 4-7 d The operculate anterior lamella of the 4th segment covers suc- ceeding lamellae but imperfectly, these successively protruding their whole apical margins. Katon's no. IV; imago unknown3 dd The operculate anterior lamella of the 4th abdominal segment covers closely all succeeding lamellae, only their extreme apical margins visible e Body hardly more than twice as long as wide; Ephemer- ella sp? from Pecos N. Mex. ee Body more than three times as long as wide Ephemerella excrucians Dnmella gen. nov.4 I have determined the nymph of this genus by means of the venation of the developing wing. Professor Cockerell sent me two nymphs from Pecos New Mexico, one of which, a male 1 Eaton no. III. Monograph, p. 132, pl.39, 22 figs. "-Monograph, p.131, pl.38, figs. 1-10. 'Monograph, p.133, pl.40, 17 figs. (Colorado) 4 To my friend, Professor Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 43 specimen, is in perfect condition for showing the venation. It shows the basal fusion of veins Cu2 and 1st A that Eaton long since described and figured as characteristic of Ephemerella grand is Etn (Monograph, pi. 14, fig.24&). This character, together with the rather strong joinings together of the other anal veins basally, readily distinguished this large species from Ephemerella proper. The figures of venation I give herewith (pi. 10, figs. 1 and 2) are drawn from the nymphal wing, which shows the venation better than does the single female imago I have seen. I have another identical nymph collected at Twin Lakes Colorado, by Mr Chauncey Juday. Since the type of E . g r a n d i s is from Colorado, it seems very probable that the nymph belongs to this species. In pi. 10, figs.3, 4 and 6 I present figures of the male nymph, which differs slightly from the female,, figured by Eaton. Ephemerella bispina sp. nov. The six specimens of this species that I have seen were sent me in the last lot of material received from the late Mr E. J. Weith. They were collected at Elkhart Indiana, shortly before June 18th— the date on which they reached me at Lake Forest. There were among them single male and female images, a male subimago, and three nymphs. The species is apparently near to E . w a I k e r i Eaton from Albany river near Hudson's bay — still so insufficiently known — and to E . i g n i t a Pol. of Europe. Imago. Length, 9 mm.; wing, 9 mm.; setae of 5, 10 mm. (of <$ wanting) ; of $ subimago, 6.5 nun. Male imago deep brown, varied with olive green. Antennae brown; a whitish ring around their bases. Thorax rich dark brown above and on all carinae, greenish in the sutures and fur- rows, excepting the median longitudinal furrow. Beside the median prolongation of the hinder lobe of the mesothorax is a pair of acute spines, each decurved at tip and about as long as the space between 1lie.ni is wide. Wings subhya line; veins pale brownish, as is also the subcosliil space. Legs brown, the femora sprinkled with distinct blackish dots; fore leg dark, becoming gradually lighter toward the tip; middle and hind legs paler and tinged with greenish ; chiws all brown, the obtuse one of each pair darker than the other. Abdomen pale brown, except Hie llljli segment which is yellow- ish, paler on the sutures and thereby appearing ringed; an in- 44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM distinct middorsal row of minute brown longitudinal dashes. Appendages all In-own, the inner ones augulated and thickened in the middle and bent upward thereafter to the tip (this appear ing only in lateral view ; hence, not shown in the figure) ; forceps (pi. 10, fig.10) strongly directed downward, the basal segment distinctly ditl'erentiuted, Hie apical segment unusually long and slender. The female imago is greenish yellow, with pale whitish legs and setae. The basal segments of the antennae are brown and there is a pale brownish tinge to the dorsum of the thorax and the lateral margins of (he abdomen. Wings hyaline, veins whitish. The ventral apical lol>e of the 9th abdominal segment surpasses the tip of the 10(h segment and is obtusely rounded apical ly. The male subimago is dark greenish brown, darker on the head, the top of the thorax and the apex of the abdomen; the abdominal sutures, however, are distinctly paler. Legs pale yellowish or greenish, the fore tarsus pale brownish. Wings smoky brown. The two dorsal apines are paler in the <$ subimago and absent in the $. The nymph. Length, 9 mm; seta, 4.5 mm, additional. Body elongated rather slender, depivssed. thinly hairy, widest across the mesothorax. Head short"; face oblique. Antennae hardly longer than the head, almost bare. Labrum quadrangular, one fourth wider than long, emarginate in front and hairy on the front border, the hairs being longest on the outer angles. Mandibles short and thick, with the outer canine very broad, .'{-toothed at apex, the inner canine of equal length but slenderer; molar sur- face narrow. Maxillary palpus hardly half as long as the laciuia. Third joint of the labial palpus a conic rudiment. Thorax flat below, well rounded above; legs short and thinly hairy; claws (pi. 10. fig.")') with inferior row of about 10 denticles. Abdomen depressed, its lateral margins serrate by reason of the flat lateral spines in which the side margins of segments 3-9 ter- minate. There are two rows of dorsal spines on segments 3-8, erect laterally, flattened, almost cultriform. Gill lamellae present on segments 3-7, double; anterior lamina thickened, covering the delicate posterior one, trapezoidal, obtusely pointed at its inner apical angle, palmately veined; posterior lamina shorter, thinner, its margins cut into a small number of fingerlike filaments. The lamellae regularly overlap, each anterior lamina covering the basal fifth of the one behind it. that of segment 7 shorter. Setae closely parallel, slender, fragile, sparingly pilose. Their two proximal articulations faintly ringed with brown. Color olivaceous, with a broad band of brown extending from the rear of the eye to the base of the lateral caudal seta. There is also a narrow middorsal line of brown on the abdomen. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 45 This species differs in the nymphal stage from the nymph next described, chiefly the presence of well-developed dorsal hooks and the absence of black rings on the base of the setae. Ephemerella unicornis s'p. nov. Along with the six specimens of E . b i s p i u a came a single male of another apparently very distinct species, distinguished at a glance from all the others by an erect conic tubercle upon the front margin of the middle lobe of the mesothorax. This species is notably smaller, measuring but 5 mm. in length, with the setae of the same length and the wing hardly longer. The hind wing also is marked with a more distinct basal costal angulation than is common in this genus. The spines beside the backward pro- longation of the middle lobe of the mesothorax are present also in this species but apparently not so large. Unfortunately the specimen, although perfect, is a subimago, and the mature colora- tion can not be given; it will probably be brownish since in the subimago it is greenish asiiiE. bispina. The abdominal appendages are well enough developed to show that the end seg- ment of the forceps will be much shorter than inE. bispina, while the inner appendages will probably be of the same type as in that species, though probably relatively shorter. Ephemerella sp?, near ignita This species occurs at Ithaca, but I have thence but a single nymph. There are two nymphs in the U. S. National Museum labeled " From stream on Mr Chamberlain's farm, Richfield Springs, N. Y., May 13, 1837." It is very closely allied to the European E . i g n i t a , as figured and described by Eaton (Monograph, pl.40; whole figure copied in Cambridge Natural History, vol.5, p.43C>, fig.282). One of the two nymphs from Richfield Springs is apparently grown. It measures in length 8 mm., setae, 3.5 mm. additional. Body rather more elongate than in the typical species; eyes lat- erally prominent; abdomen (pl.ll), n'g.7| strongly depressed, the usual submedian double row of dorsal tubercles scarcely .indicated. Lateral spines, thin, flat, sharp, on segments 4-0, a mere tooth on 4. increasing in size thereafter to segment 8, broader and less sharp on 9. Gills present on segments 4-7, double, on 4 scarcely 4G NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM operculate, overlapping the next behind it hardly more than that one overlaps its successor. Setae slender, pale, ringed with dark brown at base, thinly hairy except at base (Plate 10, fig.7). Ephemerella sp? Professor T. D. A. Cockerell has sent me from Pecos, N. Mex., a single nymph of so remarkable form I Plate 9, fig.2). I desire to make it known herewith. Its affinities are obviously with Ephemerella e x c r u c i a n s , and it differs from all the "allies of Ephemerella' figured by Katon from western North America. Therefore I brielly characterize it here and present a figure made from a photograph of the single known immature specimen. Body excessively tlat and thin, about twice as long as wide, widest across the middle of the abdomen. Head short and much narrower than the prothorax; eyes and ocelli dorsal, remote; antennae short, bare, about as long as the head is wide, composed of only aibout twelve segments, of which the basal one is as usual longest and thickest. All lateral margins very hairy. Prothorax half as long as wide, straight on front and sides with rather acute front angles, somewhat widened posteriorly. Legs short ; femora flattened, widest before the middle and fringed on both margins. Abdomen short, about as wide as long, excessively flat, with huge, serrate lateral spines on segments 2-0, increasing in breadth posteriorly, but longest on the middle segments, all strongly curved posteriorly. Segments slightly increasing in length suc- cessively to the 8th, 9 much longer, 10 only about one fifth as long as 9, but slightly produced on the dorsal side. Gills cov- ered by an oblong opercular Lamella attached at the apex of segment 4. Of the underlying gills I have made no exatinination, not wishing to injure the unique specimen. Setae 3, closely paral- lel at base, broken in the specimen. Coloration very obscure, the animal being apparently covered in life by adherent silt, 'but there is a trace of a brownish ring on the middle of each tibia and another on each tarsus. Pecos. New Mexico, July or August 1903. Professor Cockerell sent me from Pecos also a fine pair of imagos and these may represent the same species as the nymph above described. I should have felt inclined to refer these to Ephemerella inermis Eaton but for the conspicuously bifid prolongation of the 9th abdominal sternum in the female; MAY FLTES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 47 this Eaton describes as being entire. Otherwise, there is close agreement. The length is 7 nun. in male, S mm. in female; setae; 10 mm. in male, C-7 mm. in female. The segments of the male fore tarsus in order of diminishing length are 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, the first segment being one fifth as long as the second. The legs are wholly pale. The setae of the male are strongly ringed with black except at the extreme tip in the male, wholly pale in the IV male. The head and thorax and basal segments of antennae are brown. The abdomen in the male is rufous, paler on the middle segments, and suffused with brownish apically above; in the female abdomen there are broadly triangular transverse basal bands of paler on the middle segments. The posterior prolonga- tion of the sternum of the 9th segment in the female abdomen is deeply divided by a wide U-shaped notch. The abdominal appen- dages of the male are shown in pi. 10, fig.9. Ephemerella excrucians Walsh In Bulletin 47 I published a description of the nymph of this species (pp.425-42G), bred at Saranac Inn. On June 30, 1901, Mr. J. O. Martin gave me a live nymph which he had just col- lected from the shore of Cayuga lake, and I reared this also. Since that time I have received a large number of specimens from different places in Indiana, notably from Elkhart, sent me by the late Mr I\. J. Weith. From some of the latter, selected to show the great variety in depth of color pattern, I have had a new photographic figure made, which I present herewith (pl.9, fig.l). It will serve immediately for comparison with the very different form of nymph found in the species above described. On pi. 10. lig.S arc represented (he abdominal appendages of the male imago. ? Caenis allecta, sp. m>v. This is the commonest species in Fall creek at Ithaca. It swarmed into trap lanterns hung about the creek during July. Its nymph lives in the pools and side channels of that turbulent stream, where the water flows gently among small rock frag- ments over a bottom thinly strewn with silt. Imagos of our smallest species, Oa e n i s h i 1 a r i s Say, come to the trap lanterns with this one, but in smaller numbers; its nymph I have not found. 48 XK\V YORK STATE MUSEUM Imago. I, en- ih. :;.."i-4.5 mm.; setae, about 10 mm. additional; expanse of wings. S nun.; fore leg of male, 3.5 mm. (Jeneral color brown, marked with purplish or slaty gray; head and thorax brown, carinae and margins of ocelli blackish. Wings hyaline, with the usual purplish streak along the radius for two thirds its length. Abdomen pale yellowish brown on base and apex, the middle two thirds washed with gra\ ; some elongate blackish marks on the lateral margins of the 7th to Oth seg- ments; setae white; antennae, femora and forceps yellowish; tibiae and tarsi, except the terminal joint, white. Venation of the wing and the male forceps as shown in the accompanying figures (figs.s and 9). IV. y Venation of wing of yi'aenis allecta sp. MOV. Fig. 9 Ventral view of male abdominal appeml- ages of VCaenis al- lecta sp. nov., imago. Nymph. Length. 1'.." 4 mm.; setae, 1.5 $ to 2 mm.; <$ mm. ad- ditional. Color greenish In-own, obscure on the head, with a transverse broken and obscure line between the paired ocelli, antennae and legs pale, a pair of brown submedian dots on the prothorax; ab- dominal segments pale basally and on the sutures; gill covers darker beyond the Iwisal third; segments 8-10 darker with a mid- dorsal pale line on 8 and 9. Lateral spines on segments 3-9, flat and thin, best developed on the middle segments, becoming less divergent posteriorly and losing their lateral fringes of spinules. Setae stout at base, rapidly tapering; middle one distinctly longer in female and shorter in male than the laterals, all with scanty apical circlets of spinules on the segments. Legs scantily and abdomen copiously beset with short hair that is usually covered with adherent silt. Aside from the not very satisfactory differences of coloration, this nymph, differs from that of C. d, i m i n u t a in having the sides of the prothorax parallel; in diminuta the prothorax is widened anteriorly, and in having a greater part of the abdomen covered by the opercular lamella; in this species that lamella MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 40 covers part of the 8th segment ; in d i in i n u t a it does not wholly cover the 7th segment. Were it not that these differences of structure of the nymph are so slight I should have thought a separate genus necessary for this new species; for the differences in venation and in the genitalia are certainly as great as usually serve for generic separation. These principal differences may be tabulated as follows: Character Caenis diminuta, hilaris, etc. C. allecta Anal veins disconnected conjoined basally Vein Mo absent present Crossveins uniserial pluriserial Forceps of male. . . . one-jointed three-jointed Basis straight edged . bilobed at sides and emarginate in the middle Among some mayflies that were kindly collected for me bj Mrs Mary Rogers Miller at Thousand Island Park, on the St Lawrence river, are a number of typical specimens of our two previously described species, C. diminuta Walker and C. hilaris Say, that fit the descriptions exactly. In ordet to promote accuracy in the determination of the most difficult forms, I have prepared the drawings herewith presented (pl.ll, figs.3-6) of the wings and male genitalia of these species. It will be observed by comparing the wings with Eaton's figures that in venational characters ? C. allecta agrees better* with the Europaean genus Tcicorythus and the South Ameri- can genus L e p t o p h y e s , than with Caenis . But there are disagreements also with these, and the <$ genitalia and nymphs of these are as yet not certainly known. Leptophlebia praepedita Ktn. ? This species, hitherto known only from New Hampshire and not yet reported from New York State, is common about Lake Forest, Illinois, where I have found it in three quite diverse situations: 1) in the Skokie (north branch of Chicago river), a sluggish creek flowing through open meadows and marshes; 50 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 2) McCorniick ravine, where a puny stream, overhung with witch-hazel and dogwood, Hows between deep banks through a hardwood forest; and :!i in a glacial pothole, grown full of buttoubush (Ce p ha 1 a n 1 li n si on die top of a moraine. In all these situations the \\aler is fairly permanent, disappearing only in seasons of e\i reme droulli. The species appeals to be dim-mil in i(s habits. Males may be found in abundance sin ing <>n top of the leaves of shrubs be- side the water, or Iliitini; over tin-in in the bright sunshine, quickly gathering in companies and dam-in^ up and down, and as quickly dispersing and sei i liu- again. Tln-\ lly at low elevation, and are easily taken in large numbers in a net, and are as easily swept when at rest from tin- witch -hazel leaves. I found tin- species tirst in the Skokie May 8, 1901. There were then a very few subimagos on the wing, and a bed of mixed ranunculus and polygouuni in the water was fairly swarming with the nymphs. I took a large number home and {•laced them in a bowl of water, where they began transforming the next day. The subimago stage lasts about 24 hours. When Eaton described the species he had some doubts as to whether it should go in Le p t o p h 1 e b i a; but the characters of the nymph are in essential agreement with those of the typi- cal species of Leptophlebia, and thus confirm the refer- ence of the species to thai genus. In pi. 11, h'g.l, is represented the venation, and in fig.2 the J1 abdominal appendages are shown. The nymph. Length of body. (l.r» mm.; antennae 2 mm. and setae 6 mm. additional. J.ody slender, scarcely depressed, widest across the mesothorax. smooth. Face nearly vertical, ocelli in front, eyes rather small situated just before the hind angles of the head; antennae pale, basal segments rather stout, the follow- ing ones rather tapering to slender and very fragile tips. Mouth parts very similar to those of Choroterpes, shown on pi. 5, the maxillae more oblique on the end of the combined lacinia-galea, and lacking the pectinated spine tipping the former; the palpi, however, are three-jointed beyond the basal palpiger, and the palpi of the labinm are two-jointed ; thus the conditions of segmentation in these appendages are reversed in the two forms; this segmentation, however, is often very indistinct, and more or less evidence of division of the last segment when there appear to be but two are generally discoverable in all the palpi. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 51 Legs rather short, nearly bare; femora scarcely flattened, but somewhat concave on the side applied to the body; pale brownish, paler at the sutures. Whig1 cases reaching posteriorly as far as the apex of the 3d abdominal segment. Abdomen very slightly depressed, regularly tapering posteriorly, its segments very slightly increasing in length to the 9th, the 10th a little shorter on the dorsum, where produced 'backward in a rounded lobe, one half shorter at the sides; short lateral spines on segments 8 and 9, larger on 9, the lateral angles of the pre- ceding segments obtuse. Gills present on segments 1-7, double, similar, or slightly longer on the middle segments, divided in nine tenths of their length into two long, slender, simple tapering filaments, pig- mented with purplish along the tracheae. (Setae 3, equal, nearly bare at base and sparingly whorled with spinules beyond, grad- ually tapering to long slender tips. General color olivaceous, paler below, with a very narrow median pale line on head and prothorax, a median row of pale spots on the abdomen of the female becoming larger posteriorly, and a pair of spots either side on segments 3-9, becoming confluent with the median one on 9 ; male darker and more uniformly brown. May 8, 27, 30, 31 ; June 13, 14, 18. Heptageninae I deem it necessary to state that I have scarcely entered into the study of this interesting and difficult complex of interrelated forms, having dealt at first hand only with those species in whose life his tories I have become interested. The foregoing keys for this group of genera are based largely on characters culled from Eaton's Monograph, and these are but a few of the many characters therein given, and the value of these few as absolute distinctions of closely allied genera I have not personally tested. This group should furnish a most inviting field for some special student, especial^ here in North America, where it is so abuud antly represented. In this group the independent specialization of the nymphs is extreme. Their life is relatively long, and the conditions under l-'iv. 10 Ventral view of male abdominal appendages of Ec- which they dwell are very diverse. The conditions of adult life are, however, much the same in all; and we find the adults much more alike. The beginner will certainly find them much more difficult to distinguish, and would do well to study nymphs and adults together. The critical diagnosis of the species will doubtless rest on the highly individualized genital arma- ture of the male. A suggestion of the strength and definiteness of the characters presented by these parts may be had from reference to the accompanying figure of the male for- ceps and inner appendages of E c d y u r u s m a c u 1 i p e n n i s (fig.10). These project strongly from the ventral side of the apex of the abdomen, and are easily separated therefrom in fresh or Fig. 11 Tarsul claws of nymphs of Hep tag eninae ; w, of Hepta- genia inter punctata Say; x, of R h i t h r o g e n a e 1 c g a n t a 1 a Etn. V; y, of Iron sp '/ from <'<>>• Glen, Ithaca; z, of EC dy in us maculipenuis Walsh; bind claws in curb case; middle ones would be similar; front ones some- times different Fig. 12 Labra of nymphs of Hepta- geninae; h, of IronspV from Coy Glen, Ithaca; i, of Rhithrogena elegan- tula Etn. V; j, of Ecdyurus maculi- pennis Walsh; k, of Heptagenia interpunctata Say Fig. 13 Mandibles of nymphs of Hepta- geninae; c, of Rhithrogena elegan- tula Etn. ?; d, of Iron spV from Coy Glen, Ithaca; e, of Ecdyurus maculi- p e n n i s Walsh ; f, of Heptagenia interpunctata Say alcoholic specimens by a longitudinal snip with a pair of fine scissors. They may then be permanently mounted on a slide as microscopic preparations so as to give a square ventral view. It is from preparations so made that all the figures of the male appendages in this paper have been drawn. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 53 The nymphs in this subfamily are recognizable at a glance by their dorsal ly placed eyes, with the lateral flaring margins of the sides of the head projecting beneath them. They are all strongly depressed also, and have lateral pectinations to the tarsal claws (fig.ll). aiding them doubtless in clinging to their supporting surfaces washed by currents of streams or waves of shores. Further than this, however, there is very great diversity among them, and E c d y ui r u s , Iron and R h i t h r o< g e n a . fur- nish a most interesting ill list ration of a special adaptation to life in torrents. In K <• d y n r u s (pl.10, fig.3) the gill lamellae I Fig. 14 Maxillae of nymphs of Heptageninae ; m, of Iron sp ? from Coy Glen, Ithaca; n. of Heptagenia interpunctata Say; o, of Rhithrogena elegan- tula Etn. ': ; p, of Ecdyurus maculipennis Walsh are all divergent and the gill filaments are beneath their bases. In Iron (pi. 10, figs.G and 7) and in Khithrogena (pl.10, fig.4 and 5) the abdomen is more limpet-shaped, and the gill lamel- lae form a closely overlapping series whose outer border fits the supporting surface to which the nymph dings as closely as do also the flaring lateral and front margins of the head; but this is not all, the gills have migrated outward and now lie upon the bases of the lamellae, exposed on the outside to the stream of water which now dashes over, but does not flow beneath the lamellae. Furthermore, by the enlargement and approximation beneath the thorax of the foremost lamellae and by the depression and inward curvature beneath the tip of the abdomen of the hind- most of them, there is formed beneath the abdomen a disk for .'. I NEW YORK STATi: M TSEUM adhesion to the surfaces of the stones, fairly well developed in Iron, very perfect iii Rhithrogeua. So complete is its border that when applied to the surface of a stone, any elevation of the abdomen would create a partial vacuum beneath it. It doubtless serves in a different way tin- saint- purpose as the row of smaller discs po>se>sed by the larva of tin- m-i winged midge (B 1 e p h a r o c c r a), found in the same situations; and among anatomical shifts for a living is one uf the most remarkable known to me. The three figures of mouth parts of nymphs of the four genera hereinafter described (figs. 12, 13 and 14) show very considerable structural dill'erein-'-s. It is because of the remarkable definite- ness of such minute parts as the canines of the mandible that I have been able to determine with certainly some of the elements of the food of nymphs of C h i r o t e n e t e s a 1 b o m a n i - c a t u s , its food being all reduced to very minute fragments. Heptagenia interpunctata Say This is the commonest species in Fall creek at Ithaca, with E. m a c u 1 i ]> e n n i s a close second. Both species swarm into trap lanterns set about the creek during July — mostly subimagos just risen from the water. During the daytime imagos are easily found sitting on the vegetation along the sides of the gorge. H. interpunctata is also a common species on the shore of Lake Michigan near my home in Lake Forest, being very abundant along shore in the latter part of August, associated with II. flavipennis Walsh, and a few scattering speci- mens may be taken as late as September. The rather well marked color pattern of the wing of this species is shown in the photograph reproduced in Plate 4, fig.4. The nymphs of this species are found in all the streams about Ithaca in rapid water under large stones. They are distinguish- able at a glance from those of all other species by the black markings of the under side, shown in pl.G, fig.3. The nymph. (Pl.G, fig.3). Length of full grown female nymph, 9.5 mm.; antenna. 2 mm., and setae, 11 mm. additional. Body strongly depressed, widest across the head, but with the sides behind the head parallel to the middle of the abdomen, thence tapering rather rapidly to the base of the setae. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 55 Head flat, almost orbicularly rounded, limuloid, the iiifero- lateral margins thin, flat, flaring, fringed with de>curved hairs. Eyes distinctly dorsal, the lateral margins of the head projecting beneath them. Antennae minute, hardly longer than the head, the basal segments ibrown and the remainder pale. Mouth parts as shown in figs. 12h, 13f and 14n. Prothorax with its declined and flaring lateral margins decur- rent upon the sides of the imesothorax ; legs short ; femora much flattened, and with well -developed posterior fringes of hair; simi- lar fringes on middle and hind tibiae, l>ut scarcely developed of fore tibiae. Abdomen rather short, strongly depressed, and much ta.pering beyond the 7th segment; lateral spines on segments 2-9, on 3-5 minute, on 6-9 strong, straight and sharp, longest on 7 and 8, the tip of that on 8 reaching the level of the middle of the 9th seg- ment. Segments of the abdomen diminishing slightly in length to the 7th, the 8th and 9th, then successively a little longer ; 10th produced in a rounded posterior loibe. Gills represented on segments 1-7, on 1-6 double, consisting of an anterior protecting lamina and a posterior basal one, mar- gined with respiratory filaments, whose tips are visible at the inner margin of the lamina. Gill lamella on 1 Oblong, somewhat oblique, with a small lotoe beside the basal attachment on the side next the median line of the body; on 2-6 similar, becoming somewhat more elongate and less oblique; posterior lamina with its outer two fifths cut into a border of 1-2 branched respiratory filaments. On segment 7 there is a simple linear lanceolate fila- ment (representing the anterior lamina only) whose tip reaches the level of the apex of the 9th abdominal segment. Setae long, slender and very hairy for more than half their length, the hairs distinctly shorter externally; tips pale, whitish, ringed with darker and nearly destitute of hair. o »/ 'Coloration olivaceous or greenish brown, darker on head on sides of prothorax and on dorsum of abdominal segments 6 and 10. On the head there is a pale spot ibefore the middle ocellus, another one Ibetween each lateral ocellus and the eye, and an oblique pale streak extends from the eye to the margin below it. A pale, narrow middorsal line extends from the rear of the head to the meta thorax. The legs are pale, with two broad light-brown .bands on each of the femora. On each of the exposed abdominal segments is a transverse pale basal area which includes on each segment, except the 6th, a pair of brownish dots; these dots are elongated into longitudinal dashes on segments 8 and 9. Abdo- men beneath conspicuously barred with brown (pl.9, fig.3), one angulated bar on each segment, the bars interrupted in the 5G M:\V YOUK STATK .MI'SKCM middle on both basal and apical segments, but best defined apical ly. Bred at Ithaca Isth July. I'.mi. Heptagenia sp. no. :: The nymph of this species was nut bred. Like the two preceding it is strongly marked and easily nvogni/ed. It occurs in the larger streams, clinging to rueks in the swiftest currents. The nymph, i Pl.r>. liu. l.i Length, in mm.; antenna. l\ mm., and setae l.'i mm. additional. Body rather elongate, scarcely wider across the head than across the mesothorax. Head strongly depressed, evenly rounded in front, with flaring infero lateral margins, dilated at the sides and distinctly visible untside the e\es. Antennae slender. pale. Prothurax slightly narrowed pusteriurly. its margins flaring, dilated. Legs moderate, pale; femora with indistinct median and apical darker bands, and with a scanty development of the usual posterior fringes of hair. \\ings reaching the level of the base of the 4th abdominal segment. Abdomen regularly tapering posteriorly. Segments 8-10 slightly diminishing in length. Id a little produced on the dorsal side, and produced in a sharp triangular spine on each lateral margin; lateral spines developed only on segments 7 -!l. Ix-st developed on S. Gills represented on segments 1-7. on 1-fi double, consisting of an anterior protecting lamella and a posterior respiratory lamella whose border is cut into a long fringe of branching gill filaments; upper lamella obliquely oval, produced at the tip into an acute spine-like point, becoming broader distally (obovate) on 4 and 5, and narrower again on (>. On segment 7 there is a simple linear hairy filament, obtuse at the apex and hardly reach- ing the level of the base of the lateral spine on the 8th segment. Setae 3, long and hairy, the hairs becoming whorled and finally obsolete toward the tip. The distinctive features of the color pattern are shown in the photographs reproduced in pl.9, fig.4. These are a broad pale middorsal band divided with brown on the posterior abdominal segments, lateral pale dashes at the sides of the abdominal segments, and a brown longitudinal dash either side of segments 8 and 9 below. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 57 Ecdyurus maculipennis Walsh As remarked under the account of the II e p t a g e 11 i a interpunctata, this species was found commonly in Fall creek, at Ithaca. Its larvae were more commonly found at the edges of the stream ; those of that species oftener in the current, but both often occurred together. This is a dainty little species with narrow wings, conspicuously marked with black on the crossveins (pl.4, fig.3). My 'bred specimens bear the dates July 9th, 13th and 14th, 1901. The nymph. (IM.7, fig.3.) Length, 7 mm.; antennae, 2 mm., and setae, 5 mini, additional. Body strongly depressed, elongate triangular in outline, widest across the dilated, depressed and squarish frous, and rather regu- larly tapering posteriorly; head rather flat above; paired ocelli larger and more approximate a'bove in the male than in the fe- male; antennae slender and short. Mouth parts as shown in figs.l2j, 13e and 14p. Legs short, femora flattened, with a thin external fringe of hairs; tibiae slender and somewhat tapering; wing cases reach- ing the level of the apex of the 3d abdominal segment; abdomen rather short and slender, slowly tapering to the apex, middle seg- ments longest, segments 8 and 9 slightly shorter, 10 again longer on the dorsal side, but shorter at the sides and .below; lateral spines present on segments 5-9, longest on 6 and 7, straight and sharp; setae divaricate, the median one in the mature nymph more slender; the apical rings of brown on the segments of the setae are alternately (broader and narrower, and the apical whorls of setae are excessively short. General color pattern olive brown, mottled with pale greenish, darker on head and prothorax, divided by a median narrow pale line, and varied upon the sides with pale hieroglyphics; abdomen with pale and indistinct fenestrate markings along the sides. In the male there are broad dorsal blotches on the dorsum of seg- ments 4 and 5; in the female, on segments 7, 8 and 9. Iron sp? This species has not been bred. It is found in Coy Glen — a spring-fed stream near Ithaca, possessing a rich and peculiar fauna. Among our forms hitherto made known this species is peculiar in the possession of but two caudal setae in the nyrnphal stage. I have a number of nymphs collected years ago, from which, unfortunately, the date label lias become detached. r.s NEW YOI;K STATI: MTSIMM The nymph. (P1.7. ligs.r, and T.I Length, apparently full gn>\\ n. !i nun.; antenna. l..~ nun.. :iml setae, !» nun. addit ional. Body elongate, ^trough depressed, widest across the front of ihr licad and the incus. .1 horax. ilirsr iM-ing of about equal width; head widest an-oss the front well before the e\es, and strongly narrowed posteriorly to tin- obtuse hind angles; infero lateral margins of tin- head iliin and llaring a^ usual, and closely fringed with hairs; antennae short, slender, pale. Mouth parts as shown in ligs.lL'h. i::d and 1 hn. Itorsiini of the proihorax a liiile produced laterally, and angu- late obtusely in the middle of ihe *ides. Legs i lei-ale, tibiae and femora all with \\ell developed external fringes of hair; femora \er\ moderately llaiieiied ami dilated, the fore femora most so; tarsal da\\ peciinaie. there being t \\ o to four minute teeth at its anterior border before the apex ili^.lb/i. The \\ in^ cases reach the base of i he hh abdominal segment. Abdomen rejrularh tapering posteriorly, its se-ments increas- ing in length lo ihe middle. Tun lateral s|>ines each side of seu'iiieiiis L' i! and one on segment 7. all stout, triangular, and directed outward. (lills represented on segments 1 7: on 1 a very largo, broadly and obtusely triangular Hap of membrane shaped like the gill scoop of a crawlish. attached by the middle of one of the sides. its front end extending foruard and 1\ ing against the base of the hind leg. its hind end o\erlapping the succeeding gill lamella. On segments L' 7 the lamellae are ovoid, dorsally carinate, ob- tusely pointed membranous plates, each with regularly arcuate front margin overlapping the hind margin of the one on the pre- ceding segment, and each bearing at its base a tuft of 7-15 short, finger-liko gill filaments. The lamellae diminish in breadth pos- teriorly, and become less divaricate in pairs, and the tips of the 7th pair are curved beneath the abdomen. Setae 2. rather short and stout, the median seta being repre- sented by a minute triangular rudiment. The tips of the develop- ing male forceps project beyond the apex to the 10th segment. This remarkable nymph dwells in the swiftest parts of the stream, and its whole organization exhibits the most wonderful adaptation to life in such a place; the extra grappling armature appended to its claws and especially its flattened form with thin rr/f/r.s all tin ir,/,/ around closely applicable to the supporting surface, and admirably adapted to divert the flow of the water. Probably the oval enclosure of the gill lamellae of the ventral side of the abdomen acts as a sort of sucker, and holds the animal MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 59 securely to the rock surface. The net winged midge B 1 e p h a r - o c e r a is the commonest associate of this species in Coy Glen. This is another genus that has not hitherto been known east- ward of the Rocky mountains. Rhithrogena elegantula Etu ? For the sake of illustrating a still more perfect development of the ventral abdominal disk framed with gill lamellae,, as well as illustrating the variety of form in this group, I insert here a figure and a brief description of a nymph from Twin Lakes, Colorado, sent me for study by Mr Chauncey Juday, collected in the summer of 1902 : The nymph. (P1.7, figs.4 and 5.) Length of full grown female nymph, 10 mm.; male, 9 mm.; antennae and setae broken. Body short, stout, flat, narrowly elliptical behind the dilated head; head widest across the eyes, semicircular in outline, its thin lateral margins naked; behind the widest portion the sides con- verge with very great abruptness to the hind margin; antennae short and stout and bare, the joinings of the segments becoming oblique apically. Mouth parts as shown on figs.121, 13c and 14o. Prothorax three to four times as wide as long, produced at the sides in an obtuse projecting angle; legs rather short and nearly bare, the femora moderately curved and flattened with a fringe of rather stiff, very short bristles on the curving superior carina; each of the claws with a basal lateral tooth (fig.lla?). Abdomen short and ovate; gill plates on segments 1-7 mem- branous, white, obtuse, closely superposed at their broadly over- lapping edges, bearing copious tufts of long, simple gill filaments at their bases above. The anterior ends of the lamellae of the 1st segment meet beneath the jnetaihorax, and the incurved tips of those of the 7th segment meet beneath the slightly upcurved tip of the abdomen. Setae in male 2, with a rudimentary middle one, in female 3 well-developed, bare, the median paler than the others; extreme bases of setae brown, like the general integument of the bod}'. EPHEMERINAE Since the publication of bulletin 47 I have made no new breed- ings in this subfamily, but my friend Mr W. E. Howard of Ottawa, TIL, has mi red and studied our I* o I y ni i t a r c y s a 1 b u s Say and has prepared at my request the following GO NK\V YottK STATF. MI'SKCM account of that interesting species, which differs in some respects from the well-known P o 1 \ m i l a r <• \ s virgo oiiv: Polymitarcys albus Say r.Y \V. K. HOWAKI) This description was undertaken at tlie re.jin si of Prof. ]SVed- ham, who idcniiiicd tlie imago for me. Without his kind assist- ance in this respect, as well as in many others, it would not have Ix-en prepared. Nymphs of P. a 1 h u s are abundant in both the Illinois and Fn\ rivers at Ottawa. These rivers How at this place over bot- toms of solid sandstone, with bars of loose sand ac.-umulatcd in the eddies. The streams are swift in the main currents, and the nymphs of this sjKK-ies are to be found under Hat stones at the edge of swift water when about ready to transform. It was from two such situations that most of my collections were made, from which I succeeded in breeding a single specimen. 1 have seen the subimagos emerge and arise from the surface of tin- water in great numbers, but always just far enough out from the shore, so that the nymph skins were immediately swept into the current, where they disappeared before they could be procured. The difficulty in collecting the skins from the natural breeding places is further heightened by the emergence occurring during the evening twilight. According to my observation, not only this species but all others observed invariably emerge from the nymph skin at the surface of the water and leave the skin afloat. This makes the collecting of the sloughs a much more difficult task than in the case of stonerties and dragonflies. My collections indicate that this is a midsummer species in northern Illinois. My bred specimen is dated June 22. None of the images in my collections shows an earlier date than this, but I have nymphs which are evidently near to transforming which were collected the first week of June. Imagos and subimagos of the collections are scattered all through July, but August 5th shows them most abundant. At about this date they were ob- served in swarms. By the end of August they are much less numerous, and I have no collections which are as late as Sep- tember. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 61 The snbiniago stage lasts 24 hours, arid when the final emergence takes place the subimago alights on some object near the edge of the stream, where it transforms in less than a minute. The skin of the subimago remains attached to the bases of the setae of the imago and in this manner is carried out over the stream by the flying insect, where it is finally released after some minutes. The adult of this species is briefly described in Eaton's Mono- graph, p.47. The habitat given there is Passaic river, Belle- ville, N. J. (Williamson) ; Winnipeg river (Say) ; Red river of the north and New York (Hagen). This seems to indicate a rather wide distribution for P . a 1 b u s in the eastern and northern United States, but during the summer of 1903 I made collections from several of the boulder and limestone streams tributary to the Wabash in Indiana without obtaining a single specimen. The nymph. Length, 14-16 mm.; antennae, 3.5-4 mm., and setae, 7-8 mm. Body depressed^ widest across pro thorax where the thin lateral margins project; eyes prominent and lateral; three somewhat crescent-shaped ocelli arranged in the form of a broad-based triangle; antennae many-jointed, 'bearing a whorl of minute bristles at the apical ends of the joints, the first two joints much stouter and the joints 4-8 decidedly shorter than the others, projecting beyond the mandibular tusks by a little less than half the length of the latter; mandibular tusks about 2.5 mm. long, stout at base, narrowing rather abruptly near the mid- dle, the slender distal half tapering gradually to the acute, slightly out-curved tip; the basal half of tusk is thickly set with stout, acute spines, being less numerous on the slender distal portion, and entirely disappearing at about one third the distance from the tip; a few long hairs are borne on the outer side near the base; mandible stout, bearing two prominent tridentate fangs on its anterior surface nearly parallel with the distal half of the tusk, the middle tooth of each the longest; the endopodite arising from Hie base of the inner fang is inclined toward the molar surface, and bears a brush of long hairs on its inner side near the tip; the la.brum is about half as long as broad, slightly emarginale in front, and thickly covered with fine hairs; maxillae somewhat slender, the outer basal portion fringed with stiff hairs; the maxillary palpi three jointed I>esides the short pedicel, the second joint the shortest, the third joint aibout as long as the first and second together; outer side of third joint bearing a few long hairs, the stoutest ones being near the distal extremity, the ti- \K\V YoiiK STATK MI'SKf.M inner side covered with liner ones; the firsl joint fringed with short, still' hairs on outer side only; the galea truncate at the tip, Avhich is densely fringed with tine hairs, inner margin with fe\\er sioni hairs, and the inner distal angle hearing a few stout spines; the labium \\ilh three-jointed palpi, the large ovate galeae with their lips projecting a little In-yond the tips of the small lanceo- late laciniae, both galeae and laciniae pilose. Thorax depressed, widest across prothorax where the pronotnin is continued laterally into a wide, thin margin, each margin end- ing anteriorally with a prominent acute process. The wing pads reach to about the base of the third abdominal segment. The legs are rather long, the foreleg being the longest; the fore femora stand almost at right angles to the long axis of the body, the middle femora at about 4."» . and the hind femora closely ap- pressed and nearly parallel with the bod \ ; the fore femur bears three or four rows of short ^pines on its anterior side, and a few stout hairs on its posterior side near the distal extremity; the fore tibia is long, and iis inner side, as well as that of the tarsus, bears a fringe of long hairs; the former bears at its inner apical extremity a long, pointed process closely a p pressed against the inner side of the base of the tarsus; the inner sides of the fore tibia and tarsus both In-ar a number of small, sharp spines, being the most prominent on the tarsus and the apical process of the tibia. Abdomen long and gradually tapering from about the third segment, tenth segment about as long as wide. (Jills present on segments 1-7. each gill inserted on a lateral prominence bearing a minute tooth just in front of the gill base, the lateral promi- nence located just in front of the lateral, hinder angle of the segment, directed outward at an angle of about 45° to the long axis of the body; the first pair of gills small, single and spatu- late, with minute fringes, are curved upward against the body and are nearly concealed beneath the edges of the wing pads; the other gills are double and shaped somewhat like a tuning-fork, the two branches linear acuminate, about equal in length, the outer branch bearing a. rounded prominence at its basal end at the outer side; the respiratory filaments long, linear, about one third the length the gill lamina. Setae about half the length of the body, plumose throughout the greater part of their length, and then tail-pointed, the median seta not so stout at the base as the others. 'Colors of the body chiefly brOwn, amber on legs and thin mar- gins of the body, an amber stripe along the dorsal median line of the abdomen ; a brown band on each femur near the distal extremity, and a small brown blotch near the base of each. MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 63 NORTH AMERICAN HYDROPTILIDAE HY KENNETH J. MORTON, F. E. S. (LONDON) Some time ago Professor Betten sent to me several tubes con- taining a large number of examples of Hydroptilidae collected at Ithaca, N. Y. The examination of these has re- vealed quite an unexpected wealth of species, so many indeed that they should form a very satisfactory basis from which to start on the investigation of the North American forms com- prised in this wonderful family. With the approval of Profes- sor Needham and Professor Betten, I have here undertaken the attempt to describe the species found at Ithaca, and further ad- ditional material has been received from Illinois (Needham) and from New Mexico (Cockerell). A few specimens from the col- lection of the late lamented Mr. R. McLachlan, London, have also passed through my hands. The condition of the material, preserved as it is in alcohol, puts a limitation on the character of the descriptions. The ex- ternal fades- of the perfect insects is practically lost, most of the hairy clothing having been rubbed off. To a great extent, there- fore, the descriptions will be confined to the details of the J1 genitalia, and even with regard to these I may add that much better preparations could have been made from dried specimens. After all the external f acies affords very little aid in the determi- nation of the species, although in collecting these insects in a restricted area one learns to know them by their appearance. In the meantime only the males are dealt with. The difficulty of associating with the respective males the true females of say six species of H y d r o p t i 1 a found in the same tube is one that will appeal to any one who ha® ever made the attempt. Eaton's memoir on the family (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lon., 1873, pp.125-150) was the first which dealt with these minute insect forms after the newer methods. McLachlan in his Monographic Krrixitiii (itnl N////o/>.s-/.s- <>f lite Tr/<-/i<>/>/ era <>f /lie European Fauna (London 1874-1880) gives ;i full general account of the family and good descriptions of the European species which were then known to him. As the best general account existing, McLach- lan's work forms the basis for the present paper as regards G4 NKW YORK STATE .MISKKM genera, etc. Since Mel.achlan's work appcan d. much has been done towards obtaining a better knowledge <>t' tin- family from different points of view, and our information is now much more detailed and exact with respect to the structure and morphologi- cal value of the so-called appendages, this improvement being largely due to the more extended use of microscopical prepara- tions in studying these insects; and something has also been learned concerning the early stages of the lives of these tiny creatures which, as larvae, construct curious habitations of most diverse forms. As contributors to this knowledge may be mentioned the names of Klapalek. Kis, and the writer of the present notice. (Quoting from McKadilan iop. cit. |)..".n:!i: "The minute insects comprised in this family may be just ly termed Mi cm T rich op I era, for the largest European form expands to no more than in mm., the smallest to only 3i mm. Where they occur they usually swarm in great numbers, running with extreme rapidity, and very difficult to capture. Although ihe_\ occasionally appear to delight in warm sunshine, they are more especially crepuscular or even nocturnal, and are attracted by light to such an extent that the walls and ceilings of rooms near water are often dotted with these dark atoms which have entered by open windows.'' The largest measurements are attained in A gray lea and A 1 1 o t r i c h i a . no species of which is here described. The average expanse may be set down as 5-7 mm., the females as a rule being slightly larger than the males in a given locality. The following table of the genera is taken from McLachlan's Revision CDK! synopsis of Ein-o/x nn Triclwptcra, ipp.50-4-5, with the addition of a new genus which is described on p. 72. A Wings broader, subobtuse, the posterior with no costal elevation or ex- cision. (Xeuration tolerably complete; spurs 0, 3, 4 ; ocelli present and distinct) Agraylea B Wings narrower, often acute or snbacute ; the posterior with a more or less decided costal elevation followed by an excision a Spurs 0, 3, 4 b Ocelli present and distinct c Neuration tolerably complete Allot richia cc Neuration less complete d Wings scarcely acuminate Ithyt richia dd Wings strongly acuminate Oxyethira 6b Ocelli absent (wings acuminate) Orthotrichia MAY FLIES AND MI DUES OF NEW YORK 05 aa Spurs 0, 2, 4 (ocelli absent; wings scarcely acuminate; bead with elevated lobes posteriorly) Hydroptila 11 a a Spurs 1, 2, 4 (ocelli present, wings acuminate, but scarcely acute) Stactobia aaaa Spurs 0, 2, 3 (ocelli present ; wings acuminate) ..Neotrichia ID. ignoring the three species referred to in Hageu's Synopsis, pp. 2745, I have followed a course far from satisfactory to myself, but the only one possible in the circumstances. Whether these species can now be satisfactorily elucidated depends altogether on the condition of the types. Mr. McLachlan informs me that the C y 1 1 e n e in i n u t i s - s i m e 1 1 a of Chambers proved to be lepidopterous. Unless otherwise stated the locality is Ithaca, N. Y. HYDROPTILA The genus Hydroptila, as at present constituted, con- tains many European species, and it is highly probable that the North American forms.will prove to be more numerous. A glance at the figures of the appendages will however serve to show that the genus is, in respect of these important parts, far from homo- geneous, and it will no doubt sooner or later be split up into two or more genera. The typical form may be taken as that represented by H y d r o p t i 1 a s p a r s a Curt., the nearest American form being H. consimilis. In this group there is a large somewhat campanulate dorsal plate, regarded by McLachlan as the united superior appendages. 1. Hydroptila consimilis n. sp. The <$ appendages as far as they can be described from the available specimens, are as follows: A large dorsal plate, convex above, notched on its outer margin, and the angles of the plate seen from above appear to be acutely produced, viewed from the side they are seen to be rounded. Side pieces of the last segment produced into somewhat curved subacute processes. Inferior appendages nearly parallel, blades slightly outturned at the tip which is pointed and blackened; the inner margin is oblique near the apex; a small wart on the inner margin before the apex ; the outer or upper margin bears a row of short spinous hairs. The penis considerably below the apex has a strong curved acute process. Ventral lamina short. lid M:\V YOKK si \ 1-1: MI SKI M Tliis species, as has bci'U indit -ated, is close to II. s p a r s a , but dillVrs from that species in minor details, and particularly in (In- process on tin- p<-ms. this process in H . sparsa being smaller and nearer ilie lip of the organ. Ithaca. N. V.. and I'.eltra-c. Texas. 2. Hydroptila delineatus n. sp. This species has the lol.es on (lie head enormously developed. The antenna- are about i'.l jointed in the g. Tile las! dorsal segment appears to I »e deeply excised, the excision being followed liy a large semit rans|iarent plate ditticult to sep- arate from ihe basal portion of the appendages, but apparently having a small submariiinal projection on either side of a larger median one, but the outline of the plate is rather uncertain. The inferior appendages are nearly parallel, the apex ouiiiirned and upturned: the apical portion seen from the side has the lower angle someuhat produced while the upper part of the apex forms a kind of knob which in some positions shows a slight angle on its anterior side. Arising from the upper side of these append- ages is a long spirally curved acute process which winds itself round the under side of the apical lobe. On the outer (or lower) edge of the apj emlages. near their middle, is a slightly raised part bearing two or three spinous hairs. Ventral lamina short. This species can be determined without dilliculty from the \entral aspect of the appendages. It has no very near known ally. 3. Hydroptila spatulata n. sp. The dorsal plate in the <$ narrower than in consimilis, deeply notched in the posterior margin. Inferior appendages approximated at the base, slightly curved outwards and down- wards, superior edge with a few spines; apex apparently scabrous. Side pieces of the last segment produced into rather long sub- acute processes. The penis, usually much exserted, with a flat- tened rounded apex, immediately below which is a small acute process placed at right angles. Ventral lamina very long and slender, slightly swollen at the apex when viewed from the side, the outer margin obliquely truncate, blackish and roughened. No verv near allv known to me. .MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OK NEW YORK 67 4. Hydroptila hainata n. sp. The dorsal plate in the male is small, broadest in the middle, apex excised. Beneath it there is a small rounded penis-cover. The appendages are narrow, finger-shaped, aristate and widely divergent. Two strong hooks visible at the posterior margin of the last ventral plate or segment. The penis is very slender, curved at the apex and accompanied by a slender sheath of equal length. Ventral lamina very long; in lateral outline somewhat club-shaped, but lower margins oblique and minutely serrate. This species is certainly near to the European femoralis, but it differs especially in the form of the dorsal plate which in femoralis is not notched and is boat-shaped in outline. 5. Hydroptila perdita n. sp. Antennae about 31-jointed in the g. The dorsal plate is large, rounded posteriorly, gradually becoming wider, the margins slightly retracted at the base, a small hollow looking patch near the apex. The inferior appendages subparallel blades, twisted outwards at the apex, which is obscurely bifid; scattered spinous hairs, particularly on external (superior) margin. Penis broad towards the base; in the exserted part tapering to a point, below which is a very strong curved acute process standing out strongly from the stem. Ventral lamina small. ITHYTRICHIA The tyjiical forms of this genus are rather robust-looking insects bearing considerable resemblance to the species of If y d r o p t i 1 a , but they are at once distinguishable on account of their distinct ocelli and the absence of the elevated lobes on the posterior part of the head. 6. Ithytrichia clavata n. sp. In the <$ the antennae are about 24-jointed. The appendages may be described as follows: There appears to be a transparent dorsal plate with outer margin nearly semicircular in outline, but the plate is very difficult to separate from the other parts. There are very large side pieces of subtriangular form in the lateral aspect, blade-like if viewed from above, the apex down- turned and outturn cd rather acute and blackened at the extreme S .\K\V YOKK STATE MUSEUM tip. What may be termed the inferior appendages are not dis- linelly separated from I he side pi. 'res, and consist of a ventral plale apparently deeply slit; seen from the side the separate divisions of the plate appear as a rather long appendage slightly upturned and blackened at the point. The penis is club-shaped at the apex in one aspect ; in another il is slightly excised at the apical margin and Ihe dub is hollow with a slender rod-like process lying within it. The penis seems to be formed of two joints, the apical prohalily capable. of being partly retracted within the other; the latter joint is broad at the proximal part, but becomes constricted before the apex: a spiral sheath arises from about the middle of the organ. IJeneath the penis is a transparent process out of which proceed two or more spines, and on either side of this central process are sometimes visible two minor ones. There is some uncertainty about the form of the dorsal plate, but the true form of this will be readily ascertained from prepara- ations made from fresh or dried specimens. Equally there is uncertainty about the cleavage of the ventral plate. These trans- parent membranous plates appear to suffer in form from immer- sion in alcohol. A species closely allied to 1 . 1 a m e 1 1 a r i s of Europe, of whose appendages no adequate figures have so far, been published. Tn T. 1 a m e 1 1 a r i s in the part corresponding to thnt which is called above " inferior appendages " there is, I believe, no slit, although a long, narrow part where the membrane is thinner sometimes gives an illusory idea of a slit. Tn lamellar! S the dorsal plate is produced in the centre with a blunt, slightly rounded lobe, while the process underneath the penis is about equal in breadth to the above-mentioned lobe, and instead of being simple as in c 1 a v a t a it is subdivided by an excision. The larva referred to in Pxt/rJic, vol. ix, pp..°>7.")-S. is almost cer- tainly that of the species just described. Whether the views ex- pressed in that paper are well founded or not can only be determined by a more complete knowledge of the life history of the creature, the working out of which should be sufficiently at- tractive even if it does not result in the verification of Professor Xeodham's views. MAY FLIKS AND MllMJKS OF MOW YORK 09 The larva of 1 t h y t r i <• h i a was originally discovered by a Mr Bolton of Birmingham who formerly supplied living microscopical material for students, and it was noticed by me in Ent. Mon. Mag., 1st series, vol. xxiv, p.171 (1888) ; it has also recently been described by Ulmer (Stett. Eutomol. Zeit. 1902, p.364). 7. Ithytrichia confusa, u. sp. Antennae about i*S jointed in the $, long and slender, none of the joints really submouiliform, entirely fuscous, save a few basal joints, which are pale yellow. The last segment is open dorsally and within it lies a compli- cated organ represented in fig. 16. The appendages are closely approximated ventrally; in the side aspect they consist of a broad basal part, from the upper portion of which springs a long blade- like process, with rounded outer margin, beset within with numerous spines or spinous hairs. The outer margin of the basal par! is brse! with strong incurved teeth. This species, which is very easy of identification, is referred provisionally to Ithytrichia, but the form of the append- ages and the long slender antennae isolate it from the typical species of 1 1 h y t r i c h i a . It is almost certain to be ultimately regarded as the type of a new genus. ORTHOTRICHIA The Kuropeau species frequent both standing waters and rivers. They are insects Avliich measure from (J-8 mm. in expanse of wing, and McLachlan says of O. a n ,u' u s i e 1 1 a that its antenna' have about •'!!) joints in the -, and about :',L in the $. The most promi- nent features in the ' genitalia are as follows: Large dorsal plate which is more or less asymmetrical, usually notched in its outer margin and with stronger chit i nixed parts, which assume (lie form of hooks or strong teeth. The penis is of very great leiiL'tli. very slender, apparently divided into two parts, the apical part which probably forms about £ of the whole, being probably retractile (according to McLachlan, and I think he is correct). In O r t h o I r i c h i a t e I e u s i i Kolbe, the side pieces of the last segment are asymmetrical, on one side being produced into a rather long, slightly curved sub-acute process, the other 70 NEW YORK SIAI1. .\HSi:r.M into quite a short process, while the inferior appendages are much incurved, also asymmet rical, one of the appendages having a large ante-apical swelling or blunt tooth. In Orthotrichia angustella .Mi L. ilie side pieces are apparently on much the same plan, but the appendages are strongly divergent. 8. Orthotrichia brachiata, n. sp. Although but one poor specimen existed in the collection, I have no hesitation in referring this to the genus O r t h t r i c h i a on its general characters. As a species it is critically near 0. angustella and llie t\v<> are almost certainly represent al ive of each other on the two continents. In O . b r a c h i a t a the side pieces appear to be asymmetrical, but the specimen is some- what damaged in this respect. The penis is typical of the genus and is notched at the apex. Alongside of il is a very strong acute sheath and under it a cover with rounded apex. The inferior appendages are very strongly divergent, aristate. Above these (according lo what is found in O. angustella! there should be two spiniform proi -lightly divergent and terminating in a hair, but in the specimen before me these can not be made out satisfactorily. The margin of the last ventral segment has a small chii ini/ed median plate broader anteriorly and with excised fore and hind margins, the posterior projections each bearing a short bristle. The dorsal plate is as usual unequal on its two sides, but I can see no trace of teeth, although portions of the margin are more or less strongly chitinized. Tt is to be regretted that the material is so unsatisfactory, but the figures should serve for identification. OXYETHIRA This genus, conspicuous on account of its narrow wings, has proved one of the most prolific of species in the European fauna. No estimates can be placed on the number of species that may eventually be found in North America; the possibilities are boundless. 9. Oxyethira coercens, n. sp. Antenna1 in the $ about 31-jointed. The last segment dorsally is semicircularly excised when viewed from above; seen from the side the edges are strongly MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 71 toothed. The ventral plate, if viewed from the side, is in the form of a strong claw with serrate margin; from beneath, its margin is excised rather deeply, and each of the side lobes has about three teeth. On cither side the apex of a blackish rod is usually visible. The penis has the apex much dilated and armed with two or three teeth. This species, which belongs to the same group as the European O. f r i c i Klap., should be very easily recognized from the ventral plate. 10. Oxyethira viminalis, n. sp. The margin of the last dorsal segment is slightly and simply excised. Beneath, the margins of the segment recede and form a deep excision. The ventral plate has the margin nearly straight, and above it are two blackish appendages — no doubt the homologues of the hooks which lie above the ventral plate in several European forms. The penis is large, and with its sheaths forms a very complicate structure; the apex, however, is simple. The only other appendages visible are a pair of lateral rods. Described with great hesitation from a single J1 from Ithaca, but after wards, fully verified from further material from Prof. NVrdliam (Lake Forest, 15 Oct. 1902). 11. Oxyethira dualis In this species the appendages are very simple; seen from above the penultimate segment is deeply excised; from the same point of view is visible a quadrate penis cover, the posterior margin of which has two slight excisions. From beneath is seen the simple ventral plate, almost straight in its posterior outline, the hind angles slightly oblique; the plate is rather broader at its base and on each lateral margin is a faint angle. The apex of the penis has an elongate swollen part, probably exaggerated in figs. 37 and 38, through the presence of some extraneous matter; after preparation this part had the appear- ance of having two slightly chitinized straight rods and a sickle- shaped one. 1 £ Las Vegas, New Mexico. (Cockerell.) 72 M^\\ VOUK STATIC .MUSEUM Another larger female. probably also an Oxyethira, was ill tlu- sending i'roin New Mexico, but I can say nothing definite about it in the absence ui' llie '. , .NOV. GEN. {Spurs 0, -, o. Ocelli present. Head posteriorly with two large pyriform \sarts; disc ele\ated \vilh a median longitudinal line. Antenna- \\itli 1>-1:» joints (probably in both sexesj, joints shorter and more submouiliiorm in the $; rather stout, basal joint moderate! v long and slightly curved, second joint some- what shorter, the 1'oiir following subequal and cylindrical, the remainder submouiliform. (1'alpi uncertain from the material in hand.; Legs long and slender. Neural ion apparently simpler than in am of the oilier known genera, (t'ompare the figures.) 12. Neotrichia collata u. sp. In the $ the apex of the abdomen may be described as fol- lows : Above there is a semi transparent transverse plate, at either side of which are two rather longer thin processes which seein to be slightly out-turned at the apex. There are also semitrausparent side pieces rather slender and slightly curved. The inferior appendages consist of t \\ o parallel contiguous proc- esses which at the apex on their inner edges are obliquely truncate and bear one or two teeth. The penis in its' apical portion consists of two closely lying parts of nearly equal length, slightly hooked at the tips. A minute and exceedingly interesting form. The figures were rather difficult to obtain from the material received, but the important characters are set forth and will serve sufficiently for identification. From New Mexico a large number of interesting cases be- longing to two or probably three species have been sent. One is a veritable O x y e t h i r a , while the others belong probably to H y d r o p t i 1 a , but I arn not sure whether the differences shown by some of the cases are due to individual variation or point to the presence of two species. u\\ ri.iKS AM> MIIH;KS OK NK\V YORK 73 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE In the interval that has elapsed since the above paper was written, Mr. Nathan Banks has published two papers which con- tain references to North American Eydroptilidae (two species of Hydroptilid;e, Knt. Xews. April '04, p. IK]; and A List of Neuropteroid insects, exclusive of Odonata, from the vicinity of Washington, 1). C., 1'roc. Knt. Soc. Wash. Vol. vi. No. 4, pp.215-6). These may give rise to questions of synonymy, but at Fig. 15 Hyi>tilie((en, but this has been only partially examined. It includes an A u r a y 1 e a w liidi ap- pears to be the same as the European A. m u 1 I i p u n c ta t a . and an Orthotrichia which 1 had described under the name of O. c r i s t a t a but which may be O. a m e r i <• a n a , P>auks. There is also another good species o! 11 v d ropl i 1 a , but the material is hardly sufficient for description. 74 M:\\ STATE Mrsr.r.\i Professor Xeedham bred tin- Agraj i »• M and sent me the larva and cases. The metainorpho>.<-s of A graj lea and many Other European forms h;i\.- been d<-s. i -ih.-d recently ill an admira ble way by Hi-rr A. ,1. Silfvenius of IIi-lsin»r(.i>. Ag^aylea multipunctata ('nil. .MrLachlan. Key. \ Suiopsis. p.riUti. describes ili«- species as follo\\ s : Antenna- blackish fuscous. llodv blackish fuscous; abdomen . ureenish in life; blackish in dr\ i-Nanipli's \viih jialc latci-al lines; the ventral surface clothed \\ilh silkv yellowish hairs. Head and pronotnin clothed \\iih greyish \c||o\v haii-s. Le^s snlileslaceous \\ilh fuscous femora; dollied \\ilh pale hairs. Anterior win.^s ordinarily blackish, \\iih numerous distinct .mdden-yello\\ mark ings, mostly forming spots, but usually there is also a hui.u and broad space near the apex of the costal margin, about two don ijate spares on the inner margin, and t\\o or three apical spots extending into the frii.-i-s \\hidi are otheruise dark (but these markings are \rr\ variable; individuals oc. ur in \vliidi they are entirely absent, the \\inus then beiny wholly blackisli. or in which they invade the \\lmle \\in-. obli tei-a t inn the dark ground and causing the insecl to appear pal.- cinereous). 1'osierior win-s cinereous -rry, \\ith eoin-olorous. sliditly iridescent fringes. In the <$ there appears to be a bilohed shining \ellowish plato under the margin of the last dorsal segment. Sujn-rior (interme- diate?! appendages in the form of two contiguous yellowish bauds, very strongly curved downwards; from between them escapes the penis, \\hich is dark, straight", updireded. its apex dilated and truncate. Inferior append-t.-'-s. viewed ventrally, very distant, ujtciirved. yellowish, sulx-ylindrical, but they are apparently connected with two upcurved contiguous median processes, seen from the middle of the ventral margin, more slen- der than the appendages and blackish at the tips; internally, on either side of these, is a triangular piece. Lobe of the ante- penultimate ventral segment long, flnth n«l and (idjircxvftl ('i:i:ors DIPTKHA n Chironomidae i:v OSKAI; AUGUSTUS JOHANNSBN The present work forms a coin inn:ii ion of the paper entitled ••Aquatic Nemaioceroiis Diptera." published in bulletin 68 i)i' the NY\v York Siaie Museum ir.iii.'t). In that paper the Blepharoceridae, S i inn 1 i i d a <• . r u 1 i c i d a e , and ill.- 1> i \ i d a e were treated, hi this paper (he Chironomi- dae will lie considered, the classification reviewed, the chirono- niid genera of ihe world described and discussed, and finally de- scriptions miveii of Hie imagoes of all km>\\ n North American species e\ce|il those bdoiiLMMU lo llie i:roiip ( ' e r a < O J) O g O D (sens, hit. I. I )escript ions will also he given of all larvae and pupae as far as known. The luilk of the material studied was collected in New York. Inn many specimens were obtained from the .Mississippi \alle\. Rocky mountain and 1'acilic coast states. In dra\\inti up the descriptions of the species upward of 5000 pinned specimens and much alcoholic material was studied. In order to save space the references i,, \\orks of authors are abbre- viated. only the author's name followed by a date is given, the complete reference beini;- -i\en in the bibliography in the back of the book. The study upon this family of Hies was begun in the spring of 1901 and was ion tinned throughout four sea- sons. The work was done in the entomological laboratory of Cornell university under the direction of Professor J. H. Corn- stock, to whom I wish to express my thanks for advice in the preparation of this work. 1 am also under obligations to Pro- fessor Kello.uii of Leland Stanford jr. university. Professor C. O. Houghton of Delaware agricultural college, Professor Aldrich of Idaho. Mr. A. L. Melamler of Washington State, and Doctors Mac- (lillivray and Riley of the instructino- staff of Cornell university; and especially to Professor .1. ({. Needham of Lake Forest uni- versity for specimens and many favors. The family of the Chironomidae or midges comprises a large number of very delicate, and often minute flies, of which over 800 species are known throughout the world. They resemble mosquitoes in some respects, but are usually more delicate, and MAY FLIES AN'D MlWaCS OF NKW YORK T7 may be distinguished from them by their wing venation. These midges a,re often seen, especially in early spring or autumn, in immense swarms dancing in the air, and are frequently to be found at these seasons upon the windows of dwellings where (hey are often, perhaps usually, mistaken for mosquitoes. Professor Williston relates (189G) that over meadows in the Rocky mountains he has seen them rise at nightfall in most incredible numbers, producing a humming noise like that of a distant waterfall, and audible for a considerable distance. Most of the species are inoffensive or actually beneficial as scavengers. The group Ceratopogon, howrever, forms an exception, some members of which, known as sandflies, or punkies, have the power of sucking blood, and are particularly troublesome in the mountains, along streams, and at the seashore. The Chiro- nomidae are very widely distributed, being apparently as prevalent and as numerous in the frigid as in the torrid zone. There are about 500 European species, many of which were described by Zetterstedt, from Sweden and Lapland. Of the species hitherto described from North America over one third are from Alaska, Greenland and Hudson bay territory. A surprisingly large num- ber of species are common to both Europe and North America. When the fauna of Asia, Africa and South America is as well known the total number of species will doubtless be increased many fold. Geological distribution One would scarcely expect the delicate, minute flies of this family to be preserved from mesozoic times, yet they seem to be not altogether unknown. Two species referred to Macropeza are figured, one by Geinitz from (lie Lias of Dobbertin and one by LJrodie from the English Purbecks; t\vo other obscure forms from the English Pui-becks are figured under the name of C h i r o n o - m u s ; and Oorethrium p e r t i u a x and Cecidomium grand aevum of Westwood, from I lie same beds, appear to belong to this family rather than to the C e c i d o in y i i d ae or Culicidae. R h y p h u s prisons Erodie, from the English Purbecks. also probably belongs here and not to the Rhyphidae. 78 NEW YORK STATE MTSKHM The family is very abundant in amber, Loew having found seven spe.-ies of T a n y pus, more than forty of Chironomus and t\veiii\ six of Ceratopogon. Giebel also describes two spec -ies of Chiro nonius and one of Ceratopogon in amber, and these genera had previously been recognized as • M •run-in;: there by P>urmeister. Krirkson and olhers. Duisberg also records a peculiar .-vims, Sendelia, from the same. lint the occurrence of the family in a fossil stale is not confined to amber; thirteen species of Chironomus have been d( scribed from Kol t. < icuin-m. Kndoboj. and rtali, and the genus lias lircn recognized also in \V\oming. while numerous pupae distinguishable a.s belonging in several species are recorded by Ileyden from Kott. (Vratopogon has also a species at Rott, and it has been recogni/ed at Aix and in Sicilian amber. Numerous specimens of the family occur at Florissant, but they are usually in very poor condition; they have also occurred in the British Columbian tortiaries. Scndder (1886). Economic importance The only function of the imago of the Chiromoniid, at least in the group Chironomus, and perhaps T a u y p u s also, is that of reproduction. Miall and ITammond (1900) say, " It is evident that Chironomus does not feed in the winged state. The mouth parts, though of elaborate structure, are never used in feeding, and the alimentary canal of the fly is empty, except for a greenish fluid, which fills the stomach of the pupa and newly hatched fly. . . . The larvae of C h i r o u o m u s feed on dead leaves and other vegetable refuse. Microscopic examina- tion of the contents of the stomach reveals a blackish mass of vegetable fragments, besides Diatoms, Infusoria, eggs of other aquatic animals and grains of sand." Some species of the group Ceratopogon are blood suckers and their mouth parts as figured by Professor Kellogg (1899) seem admirably adapted to this function. The larvae and pupae of the Chironomidae are of much importance as fish-food. Professor Needham (1900, p.204) men- tions the fact that large numbers of the larvae of a species of Chironomus were taken from the stomachs of brook trout, MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 79 proving that these fish live almost exclusively upon " blood- worms," at certain seasons at least. Garman (1888) says: " Probably no other one genus of insect constitutes as important an item, in the food of as large a number of fishes." "NYhile Forbes (1877) in giving a list of the organisms which form food of fishes records C h i r o n o m i d a e as- occurring in the stomachs of many species. Enemies Besides the fish which devour vast numbers of Chirononiid larvae, the nymphs of dragonflies, caddis worms, Perla, Sialis, beetle and other predaceous larvae constantly prey upon them; while the adults are eaten by dragonflies, by the net-winged midges (Blepharoceridae) and other predaceous insects. In a swarm of these midges very often one also sees a number of dancetiies (E nip ids) constantly seeking victims. Methods of capturing, rearing and mounting Sweeping the low brush, rank grass, and herbage along the banks of ponds and streams is the usual way of capturing these flies, and often in a favorable location hundreds may be caught in a few hours; but the most satisfactory manner of catching is by means of a cyanide traplantern, such as is described by Professor Needham (1901, p.398). By means of it several thousand specimens may be taken in a single night. The most favorable time for setting the lantern is a sultry, cloudy night, during the summer or spring; and the most favorable location is near the bank of a pond or creek. The larvae and pupae and sometimes the eggs also* may be scooped from the bottom of the pond by means of a small coffee- strainer net; or swept by means of a brush into a cloth sagnet from the surface of the rocks at the bottom of the shallowr creek as described by Professor Needham (1899, p.5). From thence they are transferred to jelly tumblers, or for those forms which require rapidly flowing water to a jar from which the water is drawn as rapidly as it enters by means of a continuous siphon as described by Professor Coins! ock in "Insect Life," p.330. If the larva is nearly full fed, but a short time will be required for it to transform. If the specimens are still quite small, some SO NEW YOUK STATE .MISKI'.M dead leaves and rubbish ma\ he put in the glass for them to I'--' d upon. The larvae of Ghironomus usually hide them selves from view, and in the mud ami debris form tubes which "pen at the surface. vYhen placed in a jar I heir chief anxiety is to bury themselves in the mud. and ver\ soon the\ will gather bits of dead leaves ami panicles of sand about them, binding them together with \isrid threads passed out of (lie month, and in a short time will be completely concealed in a mu^h tube. These tubes are frequently seen upon the surface of dead leaves, on stones, sticks, etc. One species is known fo be a leaf miner I I'd tit, I'.lllll). The larvae of species belonging to the groups O e r a t o p o g o n and Tanypus usually do not form tubes, but remain free. Specimens captured in the fall may live all winter and not transform until spring. Some specimens of Ceratopogou taken bv ihe writer in September lived until the following .Mav in the larval stage, and it is probable that they live thus nearly a year. The larvae may be found all Ihe .\ear around, while the adults are common e \.-epi ing in the dead of winter, and a few specimens may be found even at that season. The larvae are best preserved in alcohol, either lirst killing them in hot water, or placing directly in the alcohol. If any peculiarity of color mark in- is observed it should lirst be noted, as the spirits soon remove much of the pigment. The adult should be mounted with great care, either upon an elbow pin (MacGil livray. I'.HCJb), or upon a minutien nadel. a short and very slender headless pin, thrust through a small piece of cork or pith and then into the under side of the thorax of the ily. Through the other end of the cork an ordinary insect pin is placed, and the specimen is then ready for the cabinet. It is also very desirable to preserve some specimens of each species in alcohol, or better still, in a mixture of formaldehyde and glycerine. The latter preserves the original colors quite well, especially if kept in the dark. These specimens should be put in very small vials and should, of course, bear the same number label as the pinned specimen. Tlr,- fore tarsi of the genus Chironomus are very easily broken off. and therefore it is qnite necessary that great care should be observed in preserving them since their presence is necessary in the determination of MAY FLIKS AND MllKiKS OF MOW VoKK 81 some of the species. It is the practice of the writer to remove one wing and all the legs from one side of at least one specimen of each species and to mount them (preferably dry) upon a slide; this method allows of ready measurement and comparison. Characteristics of egg, larva, pupa, and adult The adults may be characterized as follows: More or less mosquito like in form, seldom reaching ten millimeters in length. The head is small, somewhat compressed, palpi usually four-jointed; proboscis short; antennae of variable length, from six to fifteen jointed; the first joint disk-like, the last one elongated, the male antennae usually plumose. Eyes reniform or oval; ocelli rudimentary or wanting. Thorax highly arched, % frequently projecting over the head, without transverse suture; scutelluni small and hemispherical; metathorax well-developed. Abdomen long and slender, eight-jointed, the hypopygium pro- jecting forceps-like; ovipositor but little developed. Legs usually long and slender; coxae moderately long; tarsi frequently very long. Wings either bare or hairy; the veins of the costal margin beiuo- stout and in marked contrast with those in I lie other part O of the wing, which appear to be fading out. Venation variable. The larvae usually have blood or tracheal gills, and are soft- skinned and worm-like. The pupae are free, SOUK- are active and resemble C u 1 e x , others float upon the surface of the water and still others remain at the bottom of the pond until ready to emerge. The flies with which they might be confused are tin- crane flies and the mosquitoes. The former (T i p u 1 i d s) are usually larger, have proportionately longer legs, have more numerous and more distinct wing-veins, ami have a Y-shaped suture upon the dorsuui of the thorax. The latter ( C u 1 i <• i d si have scales upon the wing, and all, except ing the subfamily Core thrinae. have an elongate biling proboscis. The adults of the genus ( ' h i r o n o m u s ha\ e a peculiar habit of holding their fore legs high above the surface upon which they stand, while the mosquitoes usually hold np their hind legs. There is one other family of flies, the Stenoxenidae, which must be distinguished from the f h i r o n o m i d a e . This 82 M:U \IIKK STATE peculiar family has but a single- genus, a singh- species, and is represented bt\ but a sin:;!'- specimen. \\hich is m»\\ in the I'nit.-d JStatc-s National Museum. This family will fall in tin- couplet with the C h i r o n o m i d a e in HP- key given by (.'omshu-k (ISli-Vi, ami by NVillisi.ui (1896), bin differs from all the members of this famih l.\ its peculiar \\ing \enaiinn i pi.:;:.. lig.JD). The description of tip- family \\a> lirst given l>.\ Mr. ( 'oijiiillet I (1899a). '/'In- Tlu- eggs of most of the Ohironomidae are deposited in \\aiei-; Mime species in s\\ih ibi\\iiig \\;lier. uiiiers in sea or lake walei-, while inosl id llienr lay them in stagnant pools or JMtllds. or in slow l!o\\ilig si reams. The e--* of a ie\\ species are deposited iii bark, in manure, and in debris. Some species la,\ them in strings resembling some\\hat a minatiire siring of load's eggs; while others lay them in clumps. The eggs ihemselves are elongate, cigar-shaped. iiMialh pointed at each end. Tlie_\ hatch in a 1V\\ da\ - The The lar\ae an- \\orm-like, but vary somewhat in form with the dill'erent genera. Most of them are aipmtie, while a few live in the earth, in manure, or under bark i pi. Hi. lig.l ; pi. 17. tigs.l and I: pi. !!•. tig.!)). Kxcrptiug some of the I' e r a I o p o g o u they are provided with both thoraeic ami anal proh-gs. and move by creeping in a manner somewhat like a geometer larva, without, however, such regularity, nor does the middle section hump up, but loops irregularly to one side or the other. Many species are blood-red in eolor, and hence are frequently known a.s blood-worms. They have a distinct head with well-formed labrum, labium, epipharynx. hypopharynx. mandibles and maxillae, the mandibles moving in oblique planes. The body N distinctly segmented, usually with twelve joints besides the head, the three thoracic segments being but little thicker than those of the abdomen. The twelfth seg- ment is provided with a pair of prolegs, some caudal setae and blood gills: sometimes there are two pairs of conspicuous blood gills upon the ventral surface of the eleventh segment also. The MAY FLIES AND MIDGES OF NEW YORK 83 terrestrial larvae of C e r a t o p o g o n have prominent spines and setae upon the body, while the aquatic forms are nearly devoid of ihem (pi. 17, figs.l and 4) . The aquatic larvae of C e r a- t o p o g o 11 have no prolegs and the body is very slender and snake-like. The larvae can exist at great depths, and have been fished up from the boltom of deep lakes. They have been found in sail \\ater (Packard, J70a) . The pupae The pupae of C h i r o n o m u s are frequently found in the old larval cases; others swini very freely near or at the surface after the fashion of a pollywog. The pupa of T a n y p u s is active and resembles that of C u 1 e x in form and habit. The pupa of the aquatic Ceratopogon is more elongate than T a u y - pus, is not active, and floats, nearly motionless, in a vertical position. All of the pupae have an enlarged thorax and usually a pair of respiratory tubes or filaments, while the caudal end is somewhat broadened and paddle-like or prolonged into two- pointed lobes, with ciliate margin. The imagines To the imaginal characters of the family already given the fol- lowing may be appended: The head is small, spheroidal, flattened where it joins the thorax, in some genera somewhat hollowed out between the eyes. The compound eyes are large, with conspicuous facets and dis- tinctly separated from each other. They are kidney-shaped (reni- forui) ; that is, hollowed out around the base' of the antennae. The ocelli are wanting. The front, the space between the eyes, is limited by the upper margin of the head and a line drawn through the root of the antennae. The vertex is the uppermost part of the front, near the margin of the occiput. The face is the portion below the antennae, which is prolonged more or less downward to form the proboscis. The oral margin and an indefinite space immediately contiguous to it is called the epistoma or peristoma. The episloma is usually convex, provided with setae or sensory hairs. The maxillary palpi are the slender, usually four-jointed appendages, the most conspicuous of the mouth parts. The labrum, hypopharynx and labium differ with 84 NEW YoKK STATI-: MISKIM the dillereiit genera. Iii C h i r (Mi u in n s and allied genera there is no trace of mandibles. In <'eratopogou the mouth |;aris arc tilled for piercing. For homnlogjes of the mouth parts, see Kellogg's papers in Psyche, IS!;!). The antennae or feelers are \ariable in form and mini I >