142 Psyche [October 
NOTES ON THE HABITS OF THE SNOW-FLY (CHIONEA). 
By WerRNER MarcHanpn, 
Department of Animal Pathology, The Rockefeller Institute for 
Medical Research, Princeton, New Jersey. 
The interesting wingless Tipulid genus Chionea has often at- 
tracted the attention of entomologists because of its being one of 
the few insects which are found regularly at winter-time, being 
apparently quite at home on snow and at low temperatures. Also 
this genus is not without interest for the student of Parasitology, 
in so far as so many wingless species are found among the parasitic 
insects, the habits of which may be elucidated by a fuller knowledge 
of forms with similar characteristics. 
The genus Chionea was described first by Dalman (1816), with 
the type-species C. araneoides, from Sweden. Later, the snow- 
flies have been reported from places in Scandinavia, Germany and 
Austria, Russia, Alsace, Switzerland and Italy; the early stages 
have been described by Brauer (1854), and have been found 
repeatedly since, being terrestrial in habit and occurring under 
decaying leaves in wooded regions. At first, these captures were 
all recorded under the heading of Chionea araneoides Dalm., but 
it appears that the true C. araneoides, together with a dark and 
thick-legged form, C. crassipes Boheman, occurs only in Seandina- 
via, Lapland and Finland, while the Chionez of Germany, Austria 
and part of Russia (with araneordes), belong to C. lutescens Lundstr., 
and those of the Swiss and Italian Alps to C. alpina Bezzi. The 
two last-mentioned species are nearly related to one another, more 
yellow in color, and differ from the Scandinavian forms chiefly 
by the antennze which are composed of a smaller number of joints, 
and bear longer hairs than in the northern species. Also consid- 
erable differences have been found in the arrangement and forma- 
tion of the hairs on the legs. 
In America, the species C. valga Harris, discovered in 1835 and 
described in 1841, has been found repeatedly since in New England 
(Emerton), Minnesota (Lugger), and Canada (Gosse). Interesting 
notes on its habits, especially on its copulation, we owe to Lugger - 
(1896), who observed the species in Minnesota. According to 
Johnson (PsycHE, 1907, p. 41-44), it is doubtful whether there is 
