The Crane-Flies of New York — Part I 883 



KEYS TO THE CRANE-FLIES OF NORTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA 



Tho species of crane-flies found in northeastern North America are 

 included in four famihes, which may be separated according to the 

 following key: 



1. Five branches of the radius reaching the wing margin; a single anal vein 



Tanyderidae (p. 883) 



Less than five branches of the radius reaching the wing margin; one or two 



anal veins 2 



2. Ocelli present Rhyphidae (p. 886) 



Ocelli lacking 3 



3. A single anal vein Ptychopteridae (p. 884) 



Two anal veins (both running to the wing margin in all North American species; in some 



Old World forms the first anal vein fused with the second cubitus for a distance back- 

 ward from the tip) Tipulidae (p. 889) 



Family Tanyderidae 



The remarkable primitive family Tanyderidae includes but two living 

 genera — Tanyderus, of the antipodal regions, and Protoplasa, of the 

 United States. 



Genus Protoplasa Osten Sacken 



1859 Protoplasa 0. S. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 252. 



There are but two species of Protoplasa. The eastern species, P. 

 fitchii, is discussed below. The western species, P. vipio, ranges from 

 Colorado to California. 



Protoplasa fitchii O. S. 



1859 Protoplasa fitchii 0. S. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 252. 



The species Protoplasa fitchii is of medium size and bears a curious 

 superficial resemblance to the common tipulid Epiphragma fascipennis. 

 It is a very rare insect, there being scarcely a score of specimens 

 in the various collections, most of them from the Adirondacks of New 

 York State and the Black Mountains of North Carolina. The fly is 

 brownish gray, the wings being marked with an ocellate pattern of spots 

 and bands (Plate XXX, 1). The anal angle of the wing, which is almost 

 square, is very prominent. The immature stages are unknown but th(> 

 writ(^r surmises that they occur in wet wood in the same situations as the 

 larvae and pupac^ in the genus Epiphragma. 



