382 NEAY YORK STATE MUSEUM 



of larvae and pupae studied I did not find transitional cliarae- 

 ters. Should a difference be discovered on the examination ol 

 more fresh specimens of both varieties of adults, the specific 

 name of p i s c i c i d i u m must be revived. Riley's description 

 is as follows: 



Female. Head velvet-black; eyes brownish; antennae with 

 joints 1, 2, 3 and 11, subequal in length, each of the others 

 half as long. 1 and 2 rufous, 8 to 11 inclusive black and 

 gradually diminishing in thickness to the last, which is fusi- 

 form; palpi longer than the antennae, black. Thorax velvety 

 black with faint fulvous pubescence above; halteres opaque and 

 white. Abdomen nine jointed, joints equal in length except 

 the last two, which are smaller and smaller; dorsally velvety 

 black, laterally and ventrally, especially towards the base and 

 at the incisures, inclining more or less to rufous. Legs with the 

 front trochanters white or fulvous, and the middle and hind 

 ones more dusky; the coxae all either rufous or fulvous; the 

 femora all dark, though sometimes (two specimens) the base is 

 I>aler. Front tibiae with the upper three fourths white, the 

 rest black; hind tibiae with the upper two thirds white, the rest 

 black; middle tibiae with about the upper one half white, the 

 rest black; front tarsi black; middle and hind tarsi with the 

 upper half of first joint white or rufous, the rest black. Wings 

 subhjaline, with the veins fuliginous. Length of the body (in 

 alcoholic specimens) .11 to .17 inch. Mumford N. Y. — Riley 



Larva [pl.37, fig.2,o,T]. Pale grayish, slightly darker dorsally. 

 Head of the usual shape, brow^n with darker margins. Fans 

 with 50 to 60 rays, the longer cilia quite prominent. The apical 

 pair of bristles of the mandibles present; the labrum with a 

 serrated margin; the maxillary palpus with a few setae on last 

 joint and also on base; hypopharynx as usual; labium with the 

 toothed margin comparatively narrow; its teeth nearly uniform 

 in size, with seven setae in each row on the ventral surface 

 [tig.5]. Anal papillae, three much branched lobes. 



Pupa. The pupa with eight branched respiratory filaments, 

 with four hooks curved cephalad on ventral surface of each of 

 the segments 1, 5, 6 and 7, those on the fourth being quite small. 

 On the dorsal surface of each of segments 3, 1, 5 and 6 are eight 

 hooks curved cephalad, those of 5 and 6 being very small; and 

 on the dorsal surface of 7 and 8 are a number of hooks curved 

 caudad. The anal segTuent with two short, blunt spines. The 

 pupal case is of the " w^all pocket " type. 



In order to obtain characters to separate the adults of the 

 Fall creek, Saranac Inn and Axton varieties of v e n u s t u m , 



