WPULlUyD. 



261 



Blephakocekiu.'e, are placed between the Culicid^ and 8imu- 

 LiiD^, with several other families between them and their natural 

 allies the Tipulix.e and Limkobiin.^, both of which are treated 

 in that catalogue as distinct families, Cylixdkotomid^ (as a 

 family also) following them. . „ , . , i 



The DixiD^ and Ehyphid.e are undoubtedly the most closely 

 allied families to the TiPULiD^. , , t. £., 



The DixidtE are distinguished from them by the absence ot the 

 discal cell and the absence of the transverse thoracic suture. The 

 venation, though bearing a closer resemblance to that of some 

 PTYCHOPTEBiXyE than to that of any other family, possesses a 

 system of its own, which a glance at the diagrams of wings will 

 at once show.* The filiform antenna, in which it is impossible 

 to discriminate the individual joints of the apical portion, is dif- 

 ferent from anything existing in Tipulidj;, except in Trkliocera. 



The Ehtphid^ possess a link w ith the bvilk of the TiPULinyE in 

 the presence of a discal cell, which is absent throughout the rest 

 of the Nematoceea. Their general structure and appearance (as 

 also those of the DixiD.*;) are similar to those of the TiPrLin.E, 

 but they are distinguished by the contiguous eyes in the male, in 

 conjunction with the absence of the transverse suture on the 

 mesonotum. 



Head. In the large majority of the genera of TiPULiDyi: the 

 head is transverse, sometimes elongate, and rarely subglobular ; 

 the head itself, apart from the proboscis, being referred to in this 

 case; mostly bare, or nearly so, conspicuous bristles or spines 

 being absent, except that in some of the largest species the hairs 

 in pfaces, such as the end of the proboscis, may be long and stiff, 

 but hardly worthy of being called bristles in the chsetotactic sense. 

 Short stiff bristly hairs are prevalent on the basal joints of the 

 antennae in many species, but they are never conspicuous, nor of 

 sufhcient importance to be of much value in the classification 

 of species. No conspicuous beard is ever present; the frons, 

 vertex and back of the head bear short hairs, which in some 

 species of EitioPTERi>^i become comparatively long and shaggy. 



The eijes are rounded or oval, never or hardly ever excised or 

 cut away on the inner side above, giving a reniform (kidney- 

 shaped) 'appearance to these organs, as is the case with many 

 CuLiciD^, Chironomid^, PsYCHODiD^, SiMULiiD.5;, and some 

 Mycetophilid.t::. The eves are almost always separated on the 

 upperside of the head by" a broad frons, generally from one-third 

 to three-fourths of the entire width of the head ; the frons being 

 of equal width in both sexes or only slightly wider in the female. 

 On the underside of the head, the eyes are nearly always con- 

 tiguous or subcoutigLious. It has been my good fortune to 



* Compare BLva (PI. XTI) and rtychyi^tcra (fig. 39, p. 275) 



