46 Fritz Johansen and I. C. Nielsen. 



see that it is one of the ichneumon flies (Limneria Deichmaimi) which 

 has just come out. It is the same form, whose larvae (as already 

 described) break through the ventral skin of the Dasychira larva 

 and spin the threads attaching these to the under-lying plant. By 

 hatching out these pupae I have found, that the imago of the ich- 

 neumon bites a hole in the dorsal skin of the emptied larva and 

 crawls out through this; — and from and with the middle of June 

 these empty, perforated larval skins are almost just as common as 

 the living Dasychira larvae. And if the larvae is not attacked by 

 this wasp, we can almost always be sure that the parasitic flies 

 {Peteina stylata etc.) have taken up the place ; but whereas only one 

 wasp develops in each larva, several flies hatch out of the host. It 

 is not to be wondered at, therefore, that whilst the Dasychira larvae 

 are the commonest insect larvae at North-East Greenland, their 

 imagines are seen but seldom. 



The flies (Calliphora groenlandica, Scatophaga squalida etc.) are 

 just as common now as earlier, and we find their maggots and 

 pupae in carcases (e. g. of Myodes torquatus) and bones. The larvae 

 of the large Tipula arctica, as mentioned earlier, hibernate down in 

 the ground, and if we dig at places which are mouldy and not too 

 dry, e. g. under Cassiope tufts, we easily find their large maggots. 

 A little after the end of June they assume the pupa stage and begin 

 to work up towards the surface, and here and there under stones 

 etc. we may find circular holes leading down to a vertical passage, 

 in which sits the active pupa with the head end upwards. It is 

 thus well-protected against enemies, whilst at the same time having 

 plenty of air. At the end of the month appear the imagines; it is 

 the male especially, which is seen and only in flight; if it rests on 

 the ground, namely, its colour blends perfectly with that of the 

 surroundings it prefers (bare, sunny, stony spots with patches of 

 vegetation of Cassiope, grass etc.). Various "flower-flies" are also 

 common {Mekmostoma, Helophilus yrönlandicus , Syrpiis; the first 

 chiefly on dry, clay and stony ground with little vegetation, the last 

 two on damp, overgrown soil). Naturally, however, the commonest 

 Diptera are the gnats. The now completely thawed lakes and 

 pools contain millions of their larvae, from the large, red Chironomus 

 which live in mud tubes open at both ends, to the small, free-living 

 Culex nigripes, which is found in every water hole how^ever small. 

 Tanypus is the first to pupate (middle of June) of all the hibernating 

 larvae; but whilst the last as well as the completed pupae are lively 

 enough, the intermediate stages remain at rest on the bottom. A 

 week later appear the first imagines of Culex nigripes^; they are 



> The new brood of the year. 



