THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 201 



by the characters of the e>cs, the anterior row in pacifica being distinctly pro- 

 cur\ed instead of straight or sHghtly recurwil, with the eyes obviously more 

 widely separated and the medians clearK' smaller relatively to the laterals, 

 the clypeus higher, etc. in pacifica tibia I i)ears in front two spines instead of 

 (Mie, the ventral spines do not typically oxerlap, and tibia II is armed with a 

 spine at the distal end. 



A NOTE ON THE WINGLESS TIPULID CHIONEA VALGA HARRIS. 



BY R. C. TREHERNE, 

 Entomological Branch, Dominion Department of Agriculture. 



During March, 1920, Mr. H. J. Blurton, trapper, of Mara, B. C, brought 

 into my office some specimens of insects taken from above snow line at the 

 north end of the Okanagan \'alley. One of these insects has turned out to be 

 the wingless tipulid Chionea valga Harris, and it constitutes a new record from 

 the West. The determination was made by Dr. Nathan Banks through Dr. 

 J. McDunnough, of Ottawa, and my attention w^as drawn to the article on this 

 genus that appears in Psyche, \'ol. XXI\'\ p. 142, October, 1917, by Dr. Werner 

 Marchand of the Department of Animal Pathology, the Rockefeller Institute 

 for Medical Research, Princeton, New Jersey.. Owing to the interest of this 

 capture I requested Mr. Blurton to give me the leading notes of his observations 

 for record and publication. These notes follow, arranged in manuscript form. 



"I have noticed them for many years in the Hunter's Range of Mountains, 

 east of Mara, B. C, and they have always attracted my attention by their 

 peculiarities in regard to the altitude they live at in the mountains, their mode 

 of travel, and the weather conditions they seem to prefer. These insects seem 

 to live principally between 5,000 and 6,500 feet above sea level, and in a country 

 where spruce and balsam trees grow% living principally in the large, open spaces 

 near timber line, but very seldom where timber is plentiful. When travelling 

 over the snow they always appear to be in a great hurry, and they move in nearly 

 straight lines from one point to another, not travelling in an erratic manner 

 at all, but as if they had some special destination in mind. I noticed when I 

 approached one that it would crouch down when I am near, as if it could feel 

 the vibrations in the snow made by the weight of my snowshoes falling on the 

 snow, and would remain motionless until I had passed. This habit is not in-, 

 variable, but it happens often enough to be noticeable, showing that this species 

 is either sensitive to vibrations in the snow or to the sounds made by my move- 

 ments. 



It is very noticeable that this insect only selects cold, snowy weather to 

 travel in, and it is very active on the surface of the snow during the months of 

 January, February, March and April, even when the temperature is below zero. 

 If the atmospheric temperature is warm enough to make the snow surface 

 moist they apparently do not travel. I have noticed in April that if the sun in 

 the morning shone brightly, causing a slight thaw, there would be a few Chionea 

 visible, but if the weather changed in the afternoon and became colder with a 

 flurry of snow that large numbers of Chionea both males and females, came 

 hurrying from all directions. The adults seem very sensitive to warmth and 

 will die in a few minutes if carried in a warm hand, although if placed on the 



September, 1920 



