The Crane-Flies of New York — Part II 1013 



three smaller spines; close to ends of row a bifid setiferous spine; plcurites with spines long, 

 slender, directed strongly caudad, tips narrowly bifid, bearing a seta in notch; basal spine 

 the largest; posterior spines two in number, anterior dorsal one the smaller; sternites (Plate 

 XCVII, 539) with posterior row unbroken, of comparatively few spines, there being about 

 eleven excluding the two larger spines at ends of row; the innermost of the large lateral spines 

 conspicuously bifid, bearing a stout seta in its notch; base of posterior ring on either side of 

 median hne with a powerful conical spine which is acutely tipped. Female cauda as in genus, 

 sternal valves conspicuously shorter than the long tergal valves; the six dorsal lobes power- 

 ful, chitinized, more or less bifid at tips; dorsal lateral lobes at end of eighth segment 

 spht before tips. 



Nepionotype. — Cascadilla Creek, Ithaca, New York, May 31, 1913. 

 Neanotype.- — Cast pupal skin, reared at Ithaca, September, 1911. 

 Paratypes. — Abundant larvae from type locality. 



Tipula taughannock Alex. 



1915 Tipula taughannock Alex. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 476-479. 



Tipida taughannock is of exceptional interest in the striking color 



dimorphism that it shows, the females being black and yel'ow, the mabs 



light yellowish. The following account of the habits of the adult flies 



is taken from the writer's field notes: 



June 12, 1915. Deciduous forest association of the southern Helderberg Mountains, near 

 the village of New Salem, Albany County, New York. This association is an open deciduous 

 forest, with an undergrowth of Cystopteris, Geranium, Caulophyllum, and Impatiens. It is a 

 very open woods, having an eastern exposure and with the talus slopes so old that an extensive 

 vegetation has sprung up. The great boulders scattered about thru the woods have come 

 from the high Silurian and Devonian cliffs above. The woods are of such a nature that much 

 sunlight penetrates to the ground beneath. The forest cover shows a striking lack of conif- 

 erous species, but the following deciduous species are common: butternut, hop hornbeam, 

 hard maple, basswood, white ash. The shrubbery consists of mountain maple, bladdernut, 

 and a few dogwoods. The dominant herbage consists of jack-in-the-pulpit, wild ginger, 

 bloodroot, bishop's-cap, false bishop'a-cap, blue cohosh, white baneberry, herb robert, touch- 

 me-not, waterleaf, bedstraw, and other characteristic flowering plants in fewer numbers, 

 as well as several ferns, such as the bulbous bladder fern, maidenhair, and, on the rocks, 

 the walking fern. The crane-fly under consideration is very common in these woods. The 

 proportion of males to females is about one hundred to one, but this is due, in large part 

 at least, to the very secretive habits of the latter. The males are untiring, almost always 

 moving along, silently and relentlessly, in quesj: of their mates. They pass in and cut among 

 the dense herbage, usually close to the ground, occasionally fluttering up a tree trunk or over 

 a mossy boulder which is covered with various bryophytes and walking ferns. They are 

 so intent upon their quest that they are readily scooped up by hand. If tlus is attempted 

 and fails, however, they become instantly alarmed and fly away with great speed, their flight 

 at this time having a strong undulating motion. In a position of rest, the male almost 

 always hangs on the under surface of a leaf, with the body directed straight toward the 

 ground. Several specimens of this species, as well as of Tipula trivitlata Say and T. senega 

 Alex., were found dead in spider's webs. These small webs, made by species of 

 Epeiridae and Linyphiidae, are very common on and between the leaves of herbaceous plants 

 and are presumably intended for smaller game. The large Tipulas are probably taken in 

 by accident. 



