908 CHARLES PAUL ALEXANDER 



Tribe Eriopterini 



The tribe Eriopterini comprises a vast assemblage of usually small crane- 

 flies whose geographical range is coextensive with that of the family. 



The larvae, so far as known, are herbivorous. They show a remarkable 

 uniformity in the structure of the head capsule. In the generalized 

 members such as Molophilus and some Erioptera, the ventral bars of the 

 head capsule are toothed at their anterior ends and form mental plates 

 which are apparently homologous with those of the Pediciini. In Chionea 

 an apparently similar condition exists, to judge from Brauer's figures. 

 In the majority of species, however, the ventral bars of the capsule are 

 not enlarged nor toothed anteriorly and do not function as the mental 

 plates. The hypopharynx is preserved as a hemispherical cushion which 

 is densely provided with setae. The mandibles are small and are blunt 

 at their tips; the teeth of the cutting edge are usually three in number 

 and blunt, but in some species (Ormosia, Gonomyia) they are longer 

 and more prominent. A distinct prosthecal lobe or hook is usually 

 developed, and near the base of the mandible is a slitlike opening bearing 

 a fringe of long, yellow setae. The maxillae are rather large, hairy lobes. 

 The labrum and epipharynx is long and narrow, and densely hairy. The 

 antennae are remarkably uniform thruout the group, consisting of a stout 

 cylindrical basal segment with a slightly smaller apical papilla of an 

 elongate-oval shape. In the Elephantomyaria the condition is somewhat 

 similar, the mandibles being very small, and the esophageal region being 

 conspicuously grooved with parallel lines and ridges. The spiracular 

 disk is obliquely truncated and indistinctly lobed in Chionea and Teucho- 

 labis; surrounded by four lobes in Elephantomyia; squarely truncated 

 and surrounded by four (in Rhabdomastix) or usually five lobes. In 

 the undetermined Eriopterine No. 1, the five lobes are spatulate flattened 

 blades with the margins hooked. Anal gills are usually present and 

 variously developed in the different genera. The pupa is rather slender, 

 in the Elephantomyaria with the rostral sheath very long and the palpi 

 strongly recurved. The head usually bears a small setiferous crest which 

 is rarely lacking. The pronotal breathing horns vary considerably in 

 form and relative size, being flattened into fans in some Gonomyia, small 

 and trumpet-shaped in other Gonomyia and in Gnophomyia, elongate 

 in most species. The mesonotum is usually armed at the crest with spines, 

 hooks, or setiferous tubercles. The leg sheaths are very short in Gno- 



