398 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Its Description. 



For the reasons stated for recognizing the manure Sciara as pre- 

 viously undescribed, this also is accepted as new to science and its 

 description herewith given : 



Sciara caldaria n. sp. Plate I. — The general features of the imago 

 are much the same as in the manure gnat. It may be distinguished 

 by the greater iridescence of the wings; by the light-brown coxae ; 

 and by the smooth polished scutum of the mesothorax. The propor- 

 tionate width of the intermediate segments of the antennae to their 

 length is as 2 to ' 5 ; form cylindrical, — figure 5. The two distal seg- 

 ments of the palpi are about one-half as long as broad, and bear 

 several long setae,— figure 7. The apical portion of the lateral valve of the 

 female is nearly oval, — figure 10. The inner unsegmented appendages of the 

 male widely divergent; the apical third thickened and setose, — figure 12. The 

 median organ beneath the dorsal plate arises from an undivided base, — 

 figure 12a. The other characters, so far as observed, agree with those of the 

 manure gnat. The material at hand was not sufficient to permit of a proper 

 study of the characters afforded by the head. 



Length of body, 2.5 mm.; of wing, 3 mm. Described from eight males; 

 two females. 



Does Sciara Shed Its Wings ? 



The statement made by the lady, that some of the flies in her 

 greenhouse shed their wings, would be of so much interest from an 

 entomological view that we would be glad to have it verified, if possi- 

 ble, beyond question. It apparently finds some support in the fact 

 that quite a number of the beautifully iridescent wings of the flies 

 were found in the small quantity of the soil that was sent with the 

 winged insects. I can not think of any end or purpose that could be 

 served by such an unusual proceeding. Where wings are not needed, 

 they are usually withheld. In some insects we have, in the fame sex, 

 both winged and wingless forms, and in others the female is wingless. 

 In the genus Epidapus, belonging to the MycetophilidcB, in which Sciara 

 is included, the "wings and halteres are wholly obsolete" (Theobald), 

 but Prof. Hopkins has recently described and figured a species in 

 which " there are two forms of the males — one with short wings 

 scarcely half the length of the body, and the other with wings as long 

 or longer than the body." Possibly some such wingless forms may 

 have been seen in the Boise greenhouse. 



It is well known that among some of the ants, after the colony has 

 taken its " marriage flight " and a return to earth is made for founding 

 new colonies, the wings of the females are torn off, either by them- 

 selves or their companions. A sufficient reason for this would seem to 

 be, that as the remainder of their lives is to be entirely devoted to 



