l6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., "07 



valves are broader and blunter and do not reach the tip 

 of the upper valves. 



As the early part of March was stormy, but little collecting 

 was done, and only eighteen females were taken. Two pairs 

 were taken mating, and one female was seen with her ovipositor 

 thrust into the ground, evidently depositing her eggs, but no 

 eggs were found. A few pupae, but no larvae were found. 



We have, of course, a number of apterous or subapterous 

 forms throughout the Diptera, the two conditions being, in- 

 deed, found in the Tipulidre. The genus Chionca being en- 

 tirely wingless, and the species recently described by 

 Cuquillett, (Can. Ent., Vol. XXXVII, p. 347), assigned pro- 

 visionally to the genus Limnophila, in which both the male 

 and the female have abortive wings. 



It is difficult to conceive what combination of forces or 

 tendencies have been at work to bring about this particular 

 anomalous condition. We can easily see why it would be ad- 

 vantageous for the parasitic forms living among the hairs or 

 feathers of their host to be wingless. We also think we can 

 see the advantage the wingless or short-winged forms 

 have over the winged forms in regions where the latter are 

 more or less apt to be carried to their destruction by the winds. 

 Thus it is assumed that Calycoptcra inoscJeyi Eaton and others 

 on the Kerguelen Islands have gradually lost their wings 

 through a process of natural selection, and we can conceive that 

 the snow-loving Chionca and the subapterous alpine Limnophila 

 aspidoptera possess an advantage over flying forms living 

 under similar conditions. But none of these explanations have 

 any force in the present instance. The fact that practically all 

 of the Tipulids are winged and are able to fly considerable 

 distances is certainly good evidence that the winged forms are 

 well fitted to their environment. l>ut here we have living under 

 exactly the same conditions as to time, place, temperature, etc. ; 

 this wingless form, which, if numbers count for anything, is 

 certainly a successful form. It seems that some explanation 

 other than that of natural selection will have to be looked for 

 if we are going to "explain" such cases. 



