386 



Wirth and Stone: Diptera 



Bittacomorphinae are known as phantom midges be- 

 cause of their appearance in flight. Their long black- 

 and white-banded legs are outstretched like the 

 spokes of a wheel to catch the breeze, and they 

 float through the air with very little wing action. 

 Species of the genus Liriope resemble large fungus 

 gnats. 



The immature stages (fig. 14:8) occur in the sat- 

 urated soil, rich in decaying vegetable matter, of 

 swamps and pond margins. The larvae possess a long 

 caudal breathing tube, whereas the pupae have a 

 single, very long respiratory horn from the pronotum. 



All three of the known genera are found in California. 



Keys to the Genera of Liriopeidoe 

 Adults 



1. Antennae 16-segmented; wings with cell M t present 

 Liriope Meigen 



— Antennae 20-segmented; wings with cell M 1 absent 

 2 



2. Wings with macrotrichia in distal ends of radial and 



medial cells; basitarsi not dilated 



Bittac omorphella Alexander 



— Wings without macrotrichia in cells; basitarsi conspic- 

 uously dilated (fig. 14:8/) Bittac omorpha Westwood 



Larvae 



1. Mentum with outer margin finely serrated; mandibles 

 with 3 large outer teeth (fig. 14:8a); pseudopods small; 

 coloration yellow or brown Liriope Meigen 



— Mentum bilobed, not toothed; mandibles with a single 

 large outer tooth (fig. 14:8<7); pseudopods prominent, 

 each with a conspicuous curved claw; coloration 

 rusty-red or black 2 



2. Size small (length less than 20 mm.) (fig. 14:8Z); col- 

 oration black, breathing tube light yellow, entirely 

 retractile; body covered with very long projections 

 which are encased in a black horny substance; man- 

 dibles with an inner comb of teeth 



Bittac omorphella Alexander 



— Size larger (length more than 40 mm.) (fig. 14:8i); 

 coloration rusty-red; body tapering to the long slender, 

 partly retractile breathing tube; body covered with 

 transverse rows of shorter stellate tubercles; man- 

 dibles without an inner comb of teeth 



Bittac omorpha Westwood 



Pupae 



1. All tarsi lying parallel (fig. 14:8c); wing pads with M 

 branched. Liriope Meigen 



— Fore tarsi lying above middle tarsi (fig. 14:8&); wing 

 pads with M unbranched 2 



2. Size small (length, excluding breathing horn, less than 

 12 mm.); right breathing horn small, degenerate; ab- 

 dominal tubercles weak, tipped with several strong 

 setae Bittac omorphella Alexander 



— Size larger (length, excluding breathing horn, more than 

 14 mm.); right breathing horn elongate, filiform, longer 

 than the body; abdominal tubercles strong, elongate, 

 crowned by a circlet of 4 or 5 spines and tipped with 

 a setiferous papilla Bittacomorpha Westwood 



California Species of Liriopeidoe 



Subfamily BITTACOMORPHINAE 



Genus Bittacomorpha Westwood 



occidentalis Aldrich 1895. Humboldt County 



Genus Bittac omorphella Alexander 

 sackenii (von Roeder) 1890. Mono, Humboldt 



Subfamily LIRIOPEINAE 

 Genus Liriope Meigen 



lenis (Osten Sacken) 1877. 

 minor (Alexander) 1920. 

 monoensis (Alexander) 1947. 

 sculleni (Alexander) 1943. 



Mariposa, Mono, Monterey 



Monterey County 



Mono County 



At least six other species have been described 

 from the West, but have not been recorded from 

 California. 



REFERENCES 



ALEXANDER, C. P. 



1920. See Diptera references. 



1927. In Wytsman, Diptera, Fam. Ptychopteridae. Genera 

 Insectorum, fasc. 188, 12 pp. 

 JOHANNSEN, O. A. 



1934. See Diptera references. 



Family PSYCHODIDAE 



Adult psychodids (fig. 14:9a) are small, hairy, moth- 

 like species commonly known as "mothflies." They 

 are found about moist places, often in considerable 

 numbers. Some Psychoda and Telmatoscopus species 

 breed in drainpipes in houses, from which they may 

 emerge in swarms. The larvae in such situations are 

 able to withstand soap and hot water. Some members 

 of the family are biting pests, and one genus, Phlebo- 

 tomus, is the vector of certain diseases prevalent in 

 the tropics and subtropics. 



Our treatment of the immature stages of aquatic 

 Psychodidae is drawn very largely from an unpub- 

 lished manuscript by Dr. Larry W. Quate, which he 

 has been kind enough to let us use. The immature 

 stages of but a few species of North American Psy- 

 chodidae are known. Malloch (1917) and Johannsen 

 (1934) have given the most complete accounts avail- 

 able. For the most complete treatment of the immature 

 stages of the psychodids, we must turn to Europe and 

 the publications of Satchell (194?o,6, 1948, 1949), who 

 has worked extensively on the British fauna and has 

 described the immature stages and the biology of the 

 majority of the British species. 



