THE 
WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
“ ENTOMA QUIDQtriD AGUNT NOSXltl EST FARRAGO LIBELLI.” 
No. 9. — Yon. 2.] SATURDAY^ APRIL 11, 1863. [Price 2 d. 
EXTRACTS FROM DONOVAN. 
Diptera. 
Tipula Crocata. 
Generic Character. 
Head long : palpi 4 curved. Trunk 
very short. 
Specific Character. 
Elack, spotted with yellow. Legs 
tawny, with black feet and a black 
ring round the posterior thigh. 
Wings tawny with a marginal brown 
spot. 
Tipula rivosa. 
Specific Character. 
Brown-grey. Eyes black. An- 
tennte feathered. AYings larger than 
the body, with three brown patches 
near the margin. Tail of the female 
bifid, length one inch. 
The genus Tipula comprises an ex- 
tensive family of the Dipterous order, 
or of such insects as have two wings 
-only. Our largest species are Tipula 
rivosa, crocata, lunata &c ; the most 
common is T. Oleracea, generally 
known by the trivial appellations, 
Long-legs, Old Father &c. It is, as 
are also the other species, perfectly 
harmless and inoffensive; yet their 
singular form and more particularly 
the extraodinary disproportion of their 
legs operates frequently to their dis- 
advantage with the ignorant, who 
readily suppose they have to avoid 
the secreted sting of whatever appears 
awkward or uncommon. 
Our smaller species are infinitely 
more numerous and many of them are 
not described, being so very minute 
as to remain unnoticed. 
The Tipula plumosa PI. XXII. 
differs materially in its general ap- 
pearance from the larger kinds. We 
rarely find a specimen of the larger 
kinds of Tipula with the legs complete ; 
the loss of one or two of those mem- 
bers do not materially retard the brisk- 
ness of its motions, but it cannot fly 
after suffering a total amputation, 
though it will then live a considerable 
time. 
Tipula Rivosa being entangled by 
two of its legs in the snare of a large 
spider \Aranea Riadema ] at first en- 
deavoured to disengage them by force 
hut this rather added to its calamity, 
and a third leg was attracted by the 
glutinous matter on the threads ; the 
spider approached and the creature 
accelerated its escape by leaving two 
of its legs in the web. It is very 
common to observe the broken limbs 
of the Tipulce in the snares of this 
species of spider. 
