THE CRANE-FulEs oF New York — Part II 789 
SUBFAMILY Trichocerinae 
Genus Trichocera Meigen (Gr. hair + horn) 
1800 Petaurista Meig. Nouv. Class. Mouch., p. 15 (nomen nudum). 
~ 1803 Trichocera Meig. Illiger’s Mag., vol. 2, p. 262. 
1911 Paracladura Brun. -Rec. Indian Mus., vol. 6, p. 286. 
Larva.— Body eucephalous, amphipneustic. Thoracic segments divided into two annuli. 
Spiracles on lateral margin of posterior ring of prothorax. Abdominal segments divided 
into three annuli. Cauda ending in four lobes, ventral lobes the longer and more slender; 
lobes bearing numerous stout hairs near tips on outer face. Eyespots distinct. Lateral 
plates of head widely separated on midventral line. Mandible with prostheca distinct. 
Pupa.— Cephalic crest small, lobes with stout setae. Clypeus short; labrum dumb- 
bell-shaped; palpal sheaths stout. Antenna elongate. Leg sheaths lying in pairs above one 
another, gradually lengthening, fore pair the shortest, posterior pair the longest. Pronotal 
breathing horns short. Abdominal spiracles small, but distinct and functional. 
The small winter gnats of the genus Trichocera are rather familiar, 
since they are not rare during the winter months in cellars or even in 
the open on warm days, occurring in sunlit places in small, dancing 
swarms. They are abundant during fall and spring. They occur also 
in cool, shady places in summer, but are less in evidence at this season. 
Trichocera is found somewhat commonly and regularly in mines, often 
at very considerable depths. Boheman (1850) records specimens of 7’. 
regelationts in mines 600 feet below the surface, and Lampa (1890) also 
records the species as being found at considerable depths. Dr. H. B. 
Hungerford found numerous adults of a species of Trichocera in the 
Amethyst silver mine near Creede, Colorado, in 1914. Specimens that 
he obtained were taken at the sixth level, but the miners said the insects 
were to be seen in all parts of the mine; along the laterals at the sixth 
level they were noted 7000 feet from the entrance. It is supposed that 
these individuals breed in the animal waste which naturally accumulates 
in such places. ‘Trichocera is also a characteristic inhabitant of caverns 
and grottoes, all stages being found in such situations (Schmitz, 1909:80; 
Bezzi, 1911-12:46-47, 49, and 1914:214). 
The swarming and mating of these flies is well known. It has been 
ably described by Ainslie (1907), and is here discussed only in general 
terms. The insects swarm commonly in the autumn. Sometimes the 
swarms include but comparatively few individuals, but at other times 
many thousands participate. ‘They swarm usually from five to twenty- 
five feet above the ground, all facing in the same direction, that is, 
