112 MAINK AGRICULTURAL KxPERIMENT STATION. I912. 



lying perfectly flat. The hypopygium, unless it is turned side- 

 wise, should also be cut off and separately mounted. A few 

 color notes, describing palpi, halteres, thorax, and abdomer. 

 are necessary, but they may be quite brief, the description not 

 necessarily occupying more space than is found upon a micro - 

 scope slide label. In the descriptions which follovv^ it must be 

 borne in mind that the body length given refers to dried speci- 

 mens, balsam mounts and alcoholic specimens being about a 

 third longer. The same caution must be observed in interpret- 

 ing antennal lengths relative to that of the body; in drying, the 

 antennse do not shrink proportionally to that of the body, or 

 more particularly of the abdomen. In comparing dimensions, 

 'wing measurements, etc., of any specimen with the figures given 

 it will be imperative to use a micrometer scale and not depend 

 ■ solely upon the eye to estimate proportions. 



Characters of the suhfamily. Distinguished from the 

 MycetophiUnae by the shorter coxfe and by the wing venation 

 the R-M crossvein being in the same right line with the second 

 section of the radial sector, and the cubitus forking near the 

 base of the wing. 



In a recent paper (Archiv f. Naturgeschichte, 191 1) Pro- 

 fessor Enderlein proposes a new arrangement of the genera 

 based upon what appear to be good grounds. He separates the 

 Mycetophilidcc from the Sciaridcc upon the form of the eye. 

 In the former the eye is oval, sometimes more or less emargi- 

 nate, but not contiguous over the base of the antennse. In the 

 Sciaridcc the eye posesses a slender process which passes over 

 the base of the antenna meeting or nearly meeting the process 

 from the opposite eye, thus forming a yoke or bridge over the 

 b-'se of the scape. He divides the Sciaridce into 2 subfamilies, 

 the Lycoriincc (Sciariiicc) and the Lestremiincc, the latter here- 

 tofore having been considered a group under the Cecidomytidce. 

 If this classification were adopted, of the following 10 genera, 

 Proholccns, Manota and Pnyxia would find a place with the 

 Mycetophilincc, Zygoneura with Lestremiincc, and the remaining 

 genera with the Sciarincc. 



Table of North American Genera. 

 a. Proboscis longer than the thorax. 



b. Wing venation defective, several veins detached at base. (See 

 page 258 Part III) Probolaeus. 



