The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 789 



SUBFAMILY Trichocerinac 



Genus Trichocera Meigcn (Gr. hair + horn) 



1800 Petaurista Meig. Nouv. Class. Mouch., p. 15 (nomen nudum). 

 1803 Trichocera Meig. Illiger's Mag., vol. 2, p. 262. 

 1911 Paracladura Brun. Rec. Indian Mus., vol. 6, p. 28G. 



Larva.- — Body eucephalous, amphipneustic. Thoracic segments divided into two annuli. 

 Spiracles on lateral margin of posterior ring of prothorax. Abdominal segments divided 

 into three annuli. Cauda ending in four lobes, ventral lobes the longer and more slender; 

 lobes bearing numerous stout hairs near tips on outer face. Eyespots distinct. Lateral 

 plates of head widely separated on midventral line. Mandible with prostheca distinct. 



Pupa.- — Cephalic crest small, lobes with stout setae. Clypeus short; labrum dumb- 

 bell-shaped; palpal sheaths stout. Antenna elongate. Leg sheaths lying in pairs above one 

 another, gradually lengthening, fore pair the shortest, posterior pair the longest. Pronotal 

 breathing horns short. Abdominal spiracles small, but distinct and functional. 



The small winter gnats of the genus Trichocera are rather familiar, 

 since they are not rare during the winter months in cellars or even in 

 the open on warm days, occurring in sunlit places in small, dancing 

 swarms. They are abundant during fall and spring. They occur also 

 in cool, shady places in summer, but are less in evidence at this season. 



Trichocera is found somewhat commonly and regularly in mines, often 

 at very considerable depths. Boheman (1850) records specimens of T. 

 regelationis in mines 600 feet below the surface, and Lampa (1890) also 

 records the species as being found at considerable depths. Dr. H. B. 

 Hungerford found numerous adults of a species of Trichocera in the 

 Ameth^yst silver mine near Creede, Colorado, in 1914. Specimens that 

 he obtained were taken at the sixth level, but the miners said the insects 

 were to be seen in all parts of the mine; along the laterals at the sixth 

 level they were noted 7000 feet from the entrance. It is supposed that 

 these individuals breed in the animal waste which naturally accumulates 

 in such places. Trichocera is also a characteristic inhabitant of caverns 

 and grottoes, all stages being found in such situations (Schmitz, 1909:80; 

 Bezzi, 191 1-12 :46-i7, 49, and 1914:214). 



The swarming and mating of these flies is well known. It has been 

 ably described by Ainslie (1907), and is here discussed only in general 

 terms. The insects swarm commonly in the autumn. Sometimes the 

 swarms include but comparatively few individuals, but at other times 

 many thousands participate. They swarm usually from five to twenty- 

 five feet above the ground, all facing in the same direction, that is, 



