136 ENTOMOLOGiCAiv NEWS. [May,'i9 



smaller species may be yellow, white or greenish. All Tipulid 

 larvae are distinguished from Tabanid larvae by being quite 

 soft to the touch, with no well-marked circular annuli.^ 



Tabanid larvae can be taken at all times of the year ; certain 

 species seem to have a preference for definite localities where 

 they are regularly present while other equally common species 

 are absent, having their breeding-places elsewhere. It is there- 

 fore possible to obtain breeding material of definite species at 

 all seasons provided a good breeding locality has been found. 

 But some species are found pretty nearly evervwhere. Late 

 fall, winter and early spring are favorable seasons for collect- 

 ing, as the presence of vegetation is not as interfering as in 

 summer. 



When collected, the larvae should be placed with wet plant 

 material, and then should be isolated as soon as possible, as 

 they will proceed to eat one another in a very short time. Each 

 larva ought to be placed into a glass vial. The writer uses 

 test-tubes with lip, and lined with filter paper, but small, so- 

 called homoeopathic vials answer the purpose perfectly well. 

 For moisture, a lump of plant material, or wet filter paper, 

 blotting paper and the like should be placed in the bottle. The 

 neck should be covered with cheesecloth or linen. Instead of 

 string, rubber bands may be very conveniently used. If the bot- 

 tles have no neck or lip the larvae will frequently escape, as 

 they are able to force their way through almost any passage. As 

 food, small earthworms, or pieces of such, or small pieces of 

 raw meat, can be given ,^ but the larvae can do without food for 

 a long time if kept moist, since they are very hardy. In this 

 condition the larvae are ready for mailing; a number of such 

 bottles or vials, with locality labels attached to them, can be 

 packed in cotton and shipped any distance. 



It is to be hoped that collectors stationed in localities where 



2 The larger Tipulid larvae are found more abundantly among decay- 

 ing leaves, grass roots, etc., in the edge of the water than in the mud 

 itself. 



3 I notice that larvae of T. atratus take boiled as well as raw meat. If 

 boiled meat is given, care should be taken that it is not salted, as in this 

 case the larvae would probably not accept it. 



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