TRICHOCERA. 



235 



at rest, are porrectcd, slig-hHy inclined towards each other, leav- 

 ing a considerable open space between them. The ovipositor 

 of the female is distinguished from all the ovipositors of the 

 Tipulidse by being reversed ; that is, having the convex side of 

 the arcuated valves above and the concave side below. » 



The Trichocerse appear in swarms during sunny autumn and 

 winter days ; their larvae live in decaying vegetable matters, and 

 have been described and figured by Ferris {Ann. Soc. Entom. de 

 France, 2e ser. Vol. Y, 1847, page 37 ; Tab. I, No. III). 



The pubescence of the eyes is a character which, so far as 

 observed, belongs among the Tipulidse, to the Amalopina alone. 

 Trichocera is the only exception. Further, this genus, and per- 

 haps also Pedicia, seem to be the only ones among the Tipulidse, 

 which have ocelli. TricJiocera is, moreover, abundantly dis- 

 tinguished by the position of the great cross-vein, at the further 

 end of the discal cell, the course of the seventh longitudinal 

 vein, the flat depression between the thoracic suture and the 

 scutellum, and the structure of the ovipositor. Nevertheleae, its 

 position among the Limnophilina has nothing unnatural. The 

 structure of the forceps alone would be sufficient to separate 

 Trichocera from the Amalopina, which always have a strong, 

 branched horny forceps. Trichocera is represented by five species 

 in Europe. Only one species ( T. ocellata Walk. Dz><. Saunders. 

 p. 433 ; East Indies) from any other part of the world, besides 

 America, has been described. Two fossil species have been found 

 by Mr. Loew, in the Frussian amber (Loew, Bernst. u. Bern- 

 steinfauna, p. 37) ; they are very like the European species, and 

 show only slight differences in the venation. 



The name is derived from rpi|, hair, and xipa;, horn. 

 Four species of Trichocera, peculiar to North America, have 

 been described ( T. bimacula Walker, gracilis. Walker, brumalis 

 Fitch, and scutellata Say^). Moreover, two European species 

 have been mentioned as occurring in North America: T. macidi- 

 pennis Meig. by Stseger, and T. regelationis Lin. by 0. Fabricius. 



• It is very singular that this striking peculiarity has been entirely 

 overlooked by previous authors, even by those who, like Walker and 

 others, pretend to descrihe the ovipositor. That the pubescence of the 

 eyes has not been noticed, is easier to explain ; likewise the presence of 

 ocelli. Meigen alone saw the latter (Meigen, Vol. I, p. 211), but his state- 

 ment has been overlooked since. 



2 The descriptions of these species are reproduced in the Appendix I. 



