434 
THE STUDY OF INSECTS . 
which the ocelli are small. The antennas are thread-like, 
but are not furnished with whorls of long hairs (Fig. 507). 
The legs are very long. On the dorsum of the meso* 
thorax there is on each side, beginning just in front 
of the base of the wing, a well-marked suture, like 
that of the crane-flies; but the two do not meet so 
as to form a continuous V-shaped suture as in the 
Tipulidae. 
In some species at least there are two kinds of 
^ females, which differ somewhat in the shape of the 
Fig. 507. head. These two forms also differ in habits, one 
being blood-sucking, the other feeding upon nectar. 
The adults may be found resting on the foliage of shrubs 
and trees on the margins of mountain-brooks, or dancing in 
the spray of waterfalls. 
The immature forms of these insects are even more 
wonderful than are the adults. The larvae live in water, in 
swiftly-flowing streams, where the water flows swiftest. We 
have observed the transformations of Blepliarocera capitata 
(Bleph-a-roc'e-ra cap-i-ta'ta), which is abundant in some of 
the ravines near Ithaca, N. Y. 
The larvae of this species are readily seen on account of 
their black color, and are apt to attract attention on account 
of their strange form (Fig. 
508, a). At first sight the body 
appears to consist of only seven 
segments, but careful examina¬ 
tion reveals the presence of 
smaller segments alternating 
with these. Each of the larger 
segments except the last bears 
a pair of conical, leg-like appen¬ 
dages. On the ventral side of 
the body (Fig. 508, b) each of 
the seven larger segments except the last bears a sucker, 
the cavity of which extends far into the body, and each 
Fig. 508 .—Blrfharocera . a, larva, dor* 
view; 
puparium. 
lept 
sal view ; 6, larva, ventral view ; c v 
