The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 



709 



are usually deposited in series along and just within the margin of the serrate, Palmately- 

 fobed lea They are found m groups of one or more, all arranged Pf ^ "^^^r TCe^f. 

 and wth their long axes perpendicular, or nearly so, to the margm of the leaf. .The e^s 

 a?e oX par y Mdden beneath the epidermis, being exposed dorsally, he margms of the 

 sht overlapping the egg laterally and, to a lesser degree, both anteriorly and posteriorly. 

 Ais arraSemeut oi the eggs in series gives to the leaf margin a somewhat beaded appearance 

 Wh n the Sgs are older, the leaf margin turns brown and the YT^T/ '^7S SnlfZ 

 detected In ovipositing, the female rests on the under side of the leaf, %vith the tip ol the 

 abdomen directed toward the leaf edge. The abdomen is slightly flexed ventra ly, and the 

 marg^ of the caf Ts held between the bifurcated valves of the ovipositor which is app bed 

 rthruoper surface of the leaf, while the paired cutting valves, with their blades, are appbed 

 Lhistthrunder surface. These blades .are then moved to and fro, cuttmg a sht in the 

 Sermi The eggs are then deposited. In no case do the eggs actually touch one another 

 onSeaf In the breeding cages females lay their eggs indiscriminately on both the upper 

 and the lower surface of the lefves. In some cases, when a leaf has been eaten earher in 

 the season by larvae, the female wiU deposit her eggs along the ragged edge of this damaged 



^"^The indoor duration of the egg stage is from fourteen to eighteen days, but in the field 

 asTong a periofas t£ee weeks m'fy be required. When first deposited the egg is translucen 

 gLyS whke and spindle-shaped, with the chorion unornamented, and measures on an 



'ThTl'rvf r'e'qu'irefab'oit'S hours to emerge from the egg. The chorion of the egg 

 splits longitudinally down the mid-dorsal line, the slit extendmg almost half the length of 

 ?he egg In emergLg, the almost transparent, grayish white If ^''-^^/ibzes the body ubercles 

 Is Ws ill freemi itself from the eggshell. As soon as it is freed from the shell, the ne.ly 

 hatched larva begins to feed on the leaf tissue of the host plant. i iq v,,. 



The first-stage larvae are grayish white m color, are translucent, and measure 1.19 by 

 37 mnhmetef in sTze They feed on both the upper and the lower surface of the leaf, 

 burrow ni thru the epidermal layer with their mandibles and feeding on the parenchymatous 

 t™Sii The young larvL are very sluggish and are not readily disturbed when 

 feeding the mandibles being firmly embedded in the leaf tissue. While engaged in feeding 

 they assume various positions on the leaf surface. At the end of nme days the larvae ha e 

 increased r length to 5.S4 millimeters, and show all the characteristic behavior of the fuU- 

 S^Tntrv'ai. Xowth is very slow and before the first -olt the larvae become covered 

 with particles of their excrement, which adheres readily to the skin, ihe first larval moit 

 occurs after a period of from eighteen to twenty-one days; in some cases, however, it does 

 not occur imtil five or six weeks have elapsed. ^- j. r a 



The sec^d-stage larvae gradually assume a leaf-green color as they continue to feed 

 Toward the end of July, coincident with the dying-off of their food plant, the larvae, which 

 haTe now reached a length of from 8.32 to 9 millimeters, become quiescent and cease to 

 feed Teding and movement gradually cease completely and the larvae remam clinging 

 motionleS to the leaves. As the leaves wither, the larvae drop off, and, m some cases, 

 Attach themselves to the stems; under natural conditions, however, they usually fall among 

 the dead leaves on the ground and under these they pass the winter in a dormant condit on. 

 Many of these larvae match the brown color of the dead leaves, but some of them retain 



'^Tll'fySlZifr'^g larvae first show signs of activity in March of the ff o^ing sprmg 

 when Trautvetteria grandis sends up its new shoots. Growth then P^.^l' .^^^ ^/"^^^ 

 pupation in the middle of May. There seems to be one molt before hibernation a n^^^ 

 after the last being the casting of the larval skin, previous to pupation. The fullj gro^sn 

 farVae measure 17 milhmeters. They are invariably found on the upper surface of he leaf, 

 anITnTheTpringaTe actively engaged in feeding. On a fresh leaf the larvae usually begm 

 bv skeletonizTng it, leaving the lower epidermis intact. Later on, however, large holes may 

 be eaten completely thru fhe leaf. The fully grown larvae, and to a somewhat lesser fgree 

 the yo^ger larvae, progress by a looping motion, which may be aptly compared to that 



