The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 951 



vesicles of the receptaculum seminis of the female acts as a covering to 

 protect the eggs from wet and cold. It seems probable, however, that 

 the flies enter some crevice in the snow around the base of trees or shrubs 

 and reach solid earth, at least in some cases. Many authors have held 

 the flies to be nocturnal in their habits. Recently, Marchand (1917) 

 has furnished some interesting notes on an alpine Chionea, presumal)ly 

 C. alpina Bezzi, His observations and experiments showed him that 

 Chionea was perfectly adapted to life on the snow, being attracted to 

 this medium by its bright light and white color, the contact of the cold 

 surface on the feet resulting in a direct stimulus thru the claws. The 

 insects drink water by pressing their proboscides against the snow. Mar- 

 chand considers the principal reason for these activities' being held on 

 the snow to be for the purpose of mating, since the insects can cover 

 considerable distances over the level surfaces and are much more visible 

 to one another at this time. The copulation of this crane-fly has been 

 fully described by Mik (Osten Sacken, 1887:196) as follows: 



The upper valves of the ovipositor prevent the male from getting on the back of the female; 

 it lies on its own back, in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the body of the female; 

 when the latter is walking it drags the male, who raises himself on his hind legs to an almost 

 perpendicular position; this serves to explain the unusual incrassation cf these legs. 



The genotype, C. araneoides Dalm., is the only species whose immature 

 stages have been described. 



Chionea araneoides Dalm. 



1816 Chionea araneoides Dalm. K. Vet. Akad. Handl., vol. 1, p. 104. 



The present knowledge of the life history of Chionea araneoides is due 

 almost entirely to the work of Brauer, Egger, and Frauenfeld (1854). 

 In February these investigators brought living adults, taken in copula, 

 into an unheated room and placed them with their natural surroundings, 

 such as rich, damp, humous earth, rotten grape leaves, and similar sub- 

 stances, in glass containers. After a time a great number of small, 

 elongated eggs of a hyaline appearance were noted, laid at random, some 

 being deposited on the walls of the container, where they adhered but 

 soon shrunk and appeared dried out. Unfortunately the duration of the 

 egg stage was not ascertained. Some weeks later the young larvae were 

 foimd in the soil. They were of a cylindrical form, very pale yellow in 

 color and not especially active. They were associated with numerous 



