The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 731 



Tachinidae: Most of the species of the interesting genus Siphona 

 (Bucentes) are parasitic on the caterpillars of various Lepidoptera. Two 

 have been recorded as parasites of the larvae of species of Tipula. The 

 better-known of these is Siphona cHstata (Fabr.), a constant parasite of 

 the larvae of Tipula maxima (Behng 1886, Czizek 1913, Riedel 1913, 

 Thompson 1915). The method of attack by the parasite has been 

 described by Roubaud (1906). The large, massive larvae of this species 

 of crane-fly are amphibious or semi-aquatic, living near the margins of 

 streams and other bodies of water. They live in the mud or in the water 

 beneath the surface, at times coming up to breathe the air thru the two 

 large spiracles at the posterior end of the body. It is at this time, when 

 the spiracular disk is projected thru the surface film and the spiracles are 

 open, that the tachinid is supposed to dart down and deposit its eggs in 

 the open stigmata. The young parasite is somewhat elongated, yellow- 

 ish orange in color, and about a millimeter in length, and is completely 

 inclosed in a firm, membranous cyst. It is connected with one of the 

 two principal tracheal trunks of the host by a sort of chitinized calyx 

 which opens into the trachea. At the time of their pupation the para- 

 sites detach their organs of fixation, and with their heads perforate the 

 skin of the host and enter the humic earth. In nature this departure 

 coincides almost exactly with the time of leaving the water by the host 

 for the purpose of pupation in the earth. The pupal duration of the para- 

 site is about three weeks. Rennie (1912) gives Siphona geniculata (De 

 Geer) as a parasite of an undetermined species of Tipula. 



Species of the genus Admontia are important parasites of the larvae of 

 crane-flies. In Europe, Admontia arnica (Meig.) is parasitic on species of 

 Tipula, while in America A. pergandei Coq. is an important parasite of 

 the smoky crane-fly, Tipula cunctans (Hyslop, 1910:128). In the collec- 

 tion of the IlUnois Natural History Survey are several specimens of 

 A. pergandei bred from larvae of the smoky crane-fly (larvae taken at 

 Ur])ana, Illinois, parasites emerged October 9 to 25, 1900). Averin (1913) 

 and Lutchnik (1916), in Russia, record the larvae of a Tipula, in one case 

 at least — that of the economic species T. oleracea — as being very heavily 

 infested by an undetermined tachinid which may have been the Admontia 

 species mentioned above. 



A third genus of Tachinidae, Sturmia, has recently been reported to 

 the writer by J. D. Tothill as being parasitic on the larva of a large crane- 



