PSYCHODID.E. 197 



Basal cell short, anterior cross-vein present, near base of wing ; 

 posterior cross-vein always absent. Alulae absent. 



Life-history. The early stages are known in the case of a few 

 European species. The larvae live in rotten vegetable matter, 

 stagnant water and similar habitats. They are cylindrical, with 

 a short, firmly chitinised stigmatic tube at the anal end ; the 

 maxillae not well developed ; eye-spots on the head, and the 

 segment behind the head without means of locomotion. 



The pupa is inactive, with two long tube-like anterior stigmata. 



The adult nies appear to be widely distributed and to be 

 common in nearly every part of the world, generally showing a 

 partiality for moist spots, near water-courses or drains. They 

 are also found running over leaves near the ground, in outhouses 

 and closets, on windows, and distributed generally. They are 

 capable of biting mammals and man, Phlebotomus having been 

 known as a blood-sucker for many years. Psychoda is said to 

 attack the ankles of persons sitting quietly at a table ; this if* 

 unlikely, but Pericoma might possibly do so. 



The PSTCHODID^, as a family, are easily recognisable after a 

 little experience, from their small size, hairy wings and pubescent 

 bodies and (in PSYCHODIN.E) comparatively short legs. Though 

 similar in venation to the CULICID.E at first sight, a brief inspec- 

 tion enables the beginner to separate them without difficulty. In 

 the first place the posterior cross-vein is always absent, and the 

 anterior cross-vein is much nearer to the base of the wing than 

 to the middle (the latter being the case in the CULICID^E). In the 

 second place the antennae are verticillate in both sexes, never 

 plumose as is so conspicuously the case in male Culicids. The 

 short legs easily separate the PSYCHODIIOE, but the PHLEBOTOMI^ 

 have legs almost as long and slender as have the mosquitos, and 

 in this subfamily the venatioual characters are the most reliable 

 means of ready identification. Confusion with any other family 

 than CULICIDJE is hardly likely. The CHIKONOMID^ and CECI- 

 DOMYIMS, which bear some resemblance to them, are at once 

 known by their much less complete venation and, less easily, by 

 other structural characters. 



Table of Subfamilies. 



The 7th longitudinal vein absent or incon- 

 spicuous. * The 2nd longitudinal forks 

 at, or only very little before, the middle 

 of the wing. Prongs of upper branch 

 always fork beyond middle of wing (in 

 P. malabaricus, at the middle). Genitalia 



* In Phlebotomus papatasii an exceedingly short 7th longitudinal vein occurs 

 at the base of the 6th, running almost direct to the wing-margin. It is liable 

 to be entirely overlooked, but Graesi figures it, and it is found in P,perturban& 

 Meij. 



o2 



