The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 963 



the water in which the larvae lived had frozen into a soUd mass, yet, 

 on investigating the jar in the spring, De Gcer found two of the larvae 

 still ahve and able to feed, and within a month both had pupated. 



The larval habitat is in ponds in which a moss vegetation flourishes 

 and in which currents keep the water in constant motion. A female 

 fly was observed by Miall and Shelford (1897:360) depositing her eggs 

 in the leaf axils of a submerged moss. The eggs, about sixty in numl^er, 

 are laid singly and adhere slightly to the moss; they are opaque, dark 

 in color, and spindle-shaped, with the surface of the chorion irregularly 

 pitted, and with a rosette-hke micropyle at one end. Bengtsson, Miiggen- 

 berg, and others believe that Phalacrocera has but a single brood m a 

 yeari the larval existence occupying about eleven months; Miall and 

 Shelford, however, admit the possibility of a second brood. The egg 

 stage requires from eight to twelve days and the pupal duration is seven 

 or eight days, according to Bengtsson. According to Miall and Shelford, 

 the pupal period is considerably longer. 



During the larval development there are numerous moltings, at least 

 eight and possibly ten; the old larval skin is cast by a simple dorsal split 

 extending from the first to the fourth segment. Just after emergmg 

 from the egg the larva is from 2 to 2.25 millimeters in length and about 

 0.5 millimeter in diameter, excluding the body projections. The first 

 larval stage (Bengtsson, 1897) lasts until the second molting. The body 

 is provided with ten pairs of long, delicate, threadlike, lateral projections, 

 which are located on the second to the eleventh body segments and are 

 half as long as the body. The other projections of the older larvae are 

 merely indicated. The attachment apparatus is placed immediately 

 before the anus, and consists of from eight to twelve chitinized hooks, 

 directed forward and arranged in an arcuated crossrow. The color of 

 the body is white, almost transparent. The mouth parts show the mandi- 

 bles without a prostheca and moving horizontally. The second larval 

 stage lasts from the second until the fourth molting. The body appendages 

 have appeared and are clearly developed, resembling in appearance and 

 relative length those of the definitive stage. The attachment apparatus 

 is post-anal. The body takes on a distinctly striped appearance. The 

 mouth parts have the prostheca well developed on the mandibles, which 

 are vertically placed and therefore have an up-and-down movement. 

 The third larval stage represents the fully grown larva from the fourth 



r 



