1915] Lloyd — Wood-Boring Trichoptera 19 



means of silk, to the ends of solid twigs, and then drilled into the 

 wood, emitting, during the task, an abundance of very finely 

 powdered wood. One of these new dwellings proved too long for 

 its occupant. It was accordingly girdled with a circular incision 

 which was deepened until one end of the twig was completely 

 cut away. Several sticks similarly ringed were found in the creek 

 where the larvae occur. No doubt this is the usual method of 

 changing cases, as larval growth proceeds. 



The food of the larvae, as demonstrated by examinations of the 

 contents of many stomachs at different seasons, consists of fine 

 powder rasped from submerged wood. 



The larvae are active during the summer, fall, and winter. In 

 February, with the thermometer below 20° Fahr., they were ap- 

 parently as active as during the heat of summer. By the end of 

 April they had left the middle of the stream and had firmly at- 

 tached the anterior ends of their cases to some solid support near 

 the streams margin. At this time flat stones were fastened over 

 both ends of their cases, a frequent practice of the larvae at all 

 seasons, during periods of rest. 



The specimens in captivity emerged from June 4 to July 11. 



The wood-boring habits of this species may, when we are famil- 

 iar with more larvae, prove a not uncommon method of case- 

 making. I have found identical cases in streams on the Western 

 slope of the central range of the Colombian Andes, and also in 

 the Valley of the Magdalena River, east of this range. Similar 

 habits are described and figured by G. V. Hudson in "New Zealand 

 Neuroptera" 1904 for Tripledides ohsoleta (Pseudonema obsoleta) 

 of the family Leptocerida?. Hudson, however, states that T. ohso- 

 leta under natural conditions sometimes constructs cases of frag- 

 ments of leaves. 



Following is the description of the wood borer from New York 

 State . 



(?) Ganonema nigrum sp. nov. 



Length of body 11 mm.; front wing 15 mm.; expanse 3*2 mm. Dominant color of 

 wings and body dull smoky black. Head black or dark browTi with jet black hairs. 

 Antennae dark brown with black hairs. Maxillary and labial palpi lighter brown 

 with black hairs. Membraneous intersegmental portions light, broken between the 

 head and the prothorax on the venter by a projection of the prothorax and on each 

 side by a .similar projection. On each side of the neck there is a white, somewhat 



