1916. J 61 



The first question which arises is whether De G-eer's name should 

 be used for his larvae or for his adults. The former were, no doubt, 

 destjribed first, but as he was unable to assign them definitely to a 

 genus without rearing them, and as his diagnosis is based on the 

 adult, I consider that the name mu&t apply to the latter. Our Myce- 

 tophila punctata Mg. (1804) must therefore be known in future as 

 Mycetophila fungorum (De Geer, 1776). 



With regard to our Exechia fnngorum, according to the views of 

 some writers, the fact that this name has been used for the type-species 

 of Exechia should now necessitate the placing of Exechia as a synonym 

 of Myretophila. I cannot agree with this view, however, and consider 

 that the species which should be regarded as the type of Exechia is 

 tlie one which Winnertz actually had under the name fungortim, not 

 the one to which this name was originally applied. As stated above, 

 the name M. ftisea is not applicable to this species, although it is 

 usually placed as a synonym ; nor according to our catalogue is there 

 any other name which can be used for it. I do not, however, think it 

 is necessary to propose a new name, as I believe Meigen's Mycetophila 

 guttiventris is really ovir species. This has usually been classed as a 

 synonym of Exechia lateralis, and so it may possibly be, the females of 

 the two, which were all that Meigen possessed, being very difiicult to 

 distinguish. However, unless or until Meigen's type can be examined, 

 I think it will be best to follow Lundstroem's interpretation of 

 M. lateralis, and to use the name guttiventris for the Exechia fnngorum 

 of Winnertz a.nd later writers. 



2. — TiPULA STERCORARIA De Geer (Mem., Tome. VI, p. 388). 



De G-eer, who bred this species from larvae found in horse-dung, 

 described it as follows : " Entirely a beautiful dull black, but the 

 wings are milk-white, and the anterior barbs of the beautiful plumose 

 male antennae are whitish, while those nearest the head are black." 

 He also gave figures which showed the species to belong to the 

 Orthocladius gi'oup of the Chironomidae, and stated that it was only 

 1^ lines long. 



T. stercoraria has for long been regarded as a species of Ortho- 

 cladius, Schiner being apparently the first to describe the veiiation, 

 and all subsequent authors have followed his interpretation. But no 

 common species of Orthocladius has the outer part of the male 

 antennae whitish, and so far as I am aware no one has ever found 

 Orthocladius larvae in dune, or indeed out of water. On the other 



