122 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



leathery texture. They are nearly cylindrical, somewhat taper- 

 ing in front and terminating bluntly behind. Legs are entirely 

 wanting, but at the blunt end are a few fleshy processes and a 

 pair of small, horny hooks. The larvae seem to prefer low, moist 

 ground, and will live for some time on land entirely flooded or 

 in a ditch. They feed very largely on dead vegetable matter, 



but when exces- 

 sively abundant 

 they attack the roots 

 of wheat, grass, and 

 clover, so weaken- 

 ing them near the 

 surface that the 

 plants, deprived of 

 proper nourish- 

 ment, are killed and 

 loosened from the 

 ground. 



Pupa; may be 

 found during the 

 latter part of May, 

 occupying small 

 cells in a vertical 

 position near the 

 surface of the soil. 

 Prior to emerging 

 the adult pushes 

 from one-half to 

 two-thirds of the 

 body above the sur- 

 face and remains in this pose for several hours. The males 

 usually emerge first, as their assistance is required by the 

 females, which are loaded down with eggs, to extricate them- 

 selves from the pupal skins. The sexes pair immediately, there 

 being many more males than females one observer states one 

 hundred to one and the females deposit their eggs upon grass 



FIG. 89.- 



-A Crane-fly (Tipula hebes Loew): male 

 adult. (After Weed.) 



