4/2 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Body slender, smooth ; colors brown and green, in a pattern of longi- 

 tudinal streaks, well adapted to concealment among plant stems, the 

 depth of the color varying to suit the environment. 



Head strongly depressed, with the eyes covering the greater part of the 

 sides of it; labium very long, reaching posteriorly the base of the hind 

 legs; the mentum regularly widened from base to apex, produced median 

 lobe with a closed median cleft ; lateral lobe suddenly rounded off at end 

 to the incurved internal end hook, but hardly truncate; legs long and 

 slender as befits its climbing habits, tibiae and femora faintly ringed with 

 brown ; abdomen with strong and evident lateral spines on segments 7-9 

 only ; superior abdominal appendage wdth a well rounded apical notch, 

 its length about seven eighths that of the inferiors, which are longer than 

 segments 9 and 10 together; lateral appendages two fifths as long as the 

 inferiors; spines of the ninth segment about as long as the loth seg- 

 ment. 



Subfamily PEXJ's.LTURiNAEi 



There is but one genus and species occurring in the eastern United 

 States : both wdll be recognized by the characters given in the table for 

 major groups. 



Tachopteryx thoreyi Selys 



1857 Uropetala thoreyi Selys, Monographie des goniphines, p. 373 (^\ 

 1861 Petalura thoreyi Hagen, Synopsis Neur. N. Am. p. 117 

 1878 Tachopteryx thoreyi Selys, Acad. Belg. (2) Bui. 46 : 696 ( $ ) 

 1893 Tachopteryx thoreyi Calvert, Am. ent. soc. Trans. 20:241 (descrip- 

 tion) 

 1900 Tachopteryx th or eyi Williamson, Ent. news, 11:398-99 (habits) 

 1900 Tachopteryx thoreyi Williamson, Dragon flies Ind. p. 281 (descrip- 

 tion) 



This species, originally described from a single male specimen taken 

 in the vicinity of New York, has apparently not been found in the state 

 since that time. It is now known to be distributed from Massachusetts 

 to Florida and Texas. According to Mr Wilhamson, who has published 

 the little that is known concerning its habits, it flies in Pennsylvania 

 during the whole of June and the first half of July. It is ^'usually 

 observed resting in sunny situations on fences or trees, at the edges of 

 w^oodland . . . stream and small marshy area near . . . Easily approached 

 . . . once aroused, its flight is swift and strong." 



On June 4, 1900 D. A. Atkinson took in transformation a single female 

 nymph of this species near Pittsburg Pa. E. B. Williamson described 

 and figured this nym.ph in Entomological news. 1901. 12 : 1-3, pi i, 

 and then very kindly loaned me the specimen for study. From this 

 specimen I have drawn the labium and antenna shown in figure 15 and 

 the brief statement of characters given herewith. 



Nymph. Length 38 mm. 



Antennae 7-jointed, depressed, hairy on lateral margins, the segments 

 short and broad. 



