?

JANUARY,19271

48

ALEXANDER-X'I

PULID.aE

I+J

UNDESCRIBED SPECIES OF TIPULID.E
UTAH (DIPTERA)FROMBY CIIARLES P. ALEXANDER
A mherst, M assac husetts

The following undescribed species of crane-flies were included
in a small series of specimens collected in Utah by Dr. James G.
Needham and kindly sent to me for identification. The names
are published in this preliminary paper in order to make themavailable for Doctor Needham's forthcoming report on the foodof certain fishes. The types o{ the novelties have been depositedin the Cornell University collection. I wish to express my deep
thanks to Doctor Needham for this kindlv interest and forvery many favors in the past.
Limnophila

nemoptera Alexander, new species

Female. Length, 6.5 mm.; wing, 2.9 mm.
Described from an alcoholic specimen.
Rostrum very short, pale; palpi brown, all segmentsvery short.
Antenna with but fifteen segments,the last two more or less fused;flagellarsegmentsoval, graduallydecreasingin size outwardly; basai
segment of scape pale, the remainder of the organ dark brown. Headbrown, paling into brownish yellow on the gena.
Thorax yellow, the anterior median portion of the prescutum alittle darkened. Halteres pale. Legs relatively long and slender;
coxa pale, the middle and hind coxa elongated; trochanters obscureyellow; femora, tibia and basitarsi pale, the tips a little infuscated;
terminal tarsal segments uniformly blackened. Wings reduced tolong, narrow strips, pale yellow, with only the distal sixth or lessweakly infuscated; wings longer than the combined head and thorax
and about three times as long as the halteres alone; venation entirely
degenerate.
Abdominal tergites brownish yellow with a dorso-median brown
Iongitudinal stripe on the fourth to seventh tergites, including thecaudal margins of the segments; basal sternites yellow, the outerones a little darker with infuscated caudal margins; genital segment
yellow. Ovipositor with the tergal valves rather angularly upturned
opposite the level of the tips of the sternal valves.
Holotype,

I , Peterson's

Springlftah,

one of the sourcesof the Logan River, altitude about 7500 feet, July 20, 1926
(J. G. Needham).
Limnophila new,optera belongs to the group of subapterous
species hitherto represented in the Western Nearctic fauna byL. aspid,optera Coquillett (New Mexico) and L. subaptero
Alexander (California), distinguished by the presence of but

r44

TrrE pAN-pAcrFIc ENToMoLocrsr [vor. rrr, No. 3

fifteen antennal segments and highly degenerate wings in bothsexes, so far as these latter are both known. The present species is well distinguished by its small size and generally palecoloration, with a distinct darker stripe on the abdominai tergites. It is most closely related to L. subaptera in having thewings long and narrow, much exceeding the halteres.
Psiloconopa mormon Alexander, new species
Male. Length, about 4-4.5 mm.; wing, 4-5.5 mm. Female.
Length about 5-6 mm. I wing, 5 mm.
Described from alcoholic specimens. General coloration
brownish black, this including the head and appendages,thorax
and abdomen.
if bentbackwardextendingabout
Antenne ( 6 ) relativelyelongate,
to the base of the abdomen; flagellar segmentselongate-oval,becoming shorter outwardly, the terminal segment abruptly smaller.
Halteres pale. Legs black, the femoral bases restrictedly paler.
Wings of normal length and width, tinged with gravish brown, thestigmal region very faintly darker; veins dark brown. Venation: ,Sr,ending shortly beyond the fork of Rr,,ic, not apparent; Rr elongate;r a little more than its own length beyond the origin of Rr; celllst Mropen by the atrophy of m; cell M, about twice its petiole; vein
2nd i straight, relativeiy long, ending opposite the origin of Rs.
I{ale hypopygium with the basistyles relatively short and stout,
their outer laces only sparselysetiferous,the mesal faces denselyprovided with sete. Outer dististyle gently arcuated,with a blunt spine
on margin before midlength. Inner dististyle a little more than onehalf the length of the outer, stout, straight, the outer face densely
set with erect to subretrorse seta. Gonapophyses longer than theadeagus, nearly straight, their tips a little incurved. ,iEdeagus subtended on either side by a broad flange that becomes narrower
outwardly.
In the female the antenna are shorter, the outer flagellar segments
short-oval. Legs shorter and stouter.

Holotype, g, Logan River, Utah, altitude about 5500 feet,
June23, 1926 (1. G. Needham). Allotopotype, 9 . Paratypes,( eoA small group of dark-colored Eriopterini that have beenplaced hitherto in Erioptera are now transferred to the genus
Psiloconopa Zetterstedt, the members of which until now wererecognized only from the Palrearctic Region. The genus is still
poorly understood, and in the European fauna rather discordantelements have been associatedin the group. The late Doctor
Bergroth and other authorities considered Psi,loconopato bevery close to GnophonoyioOsten Sacken, but Crampton's very

JANUARY, 1927]

ALEXANDER-TIPULID,IEr45

important work on the thoracic sclerites of the Eriopterine
Tipulida (Insec. Inscit. Menst., 13: 197-213; 1925), has shown
the genus to be most closely allied to Erioptera, of which it
may eventualiy be held to constitute only a subgenus. The
Nearctic species, all western in distribution, that have been
described as species of Erio.ptera but apparently refer to thepresent group are as follows: P. laticeps Alexander (California), P. pitipennis Alexander (Oregon), and a group ofarctic and subarctic species from Alaska and the Canadiannorthwest ; P. angusti,fennis Alexander, P. kahnar, Alexander,P. alaskensisAlexander , and P. aldrichi Alexander.
TnB WnrrB-LrNBo SrnrNx
The rvhitelined sphinx, Celerio lineata (Fabr.), is often
abundant in the desert areas of southern California. I haverepeatedly taken great numbers of the adults about lights, but
not until last spring did I run across the larve in such abundance. After turning on to the Palm Springs highway at WhiteWater, and continuing across the Southern Pacific railroad
beyond Palm Springs station, the caterpillars were observed
crossing the macadam highway in increasingly greater numbers
as far as the bridge which crosses the wash near the hills,
beyond which none was to be found. In examining the infested
area the larva were everywhere and literally swarmed over thesand.
They varied in length from two inches to five inches. The
black and orange color phase greatiy predominated, and only
rarely could the black and green individuals be found. Manyof them were very restless and were crawling about over the
hot sand in great haste. Those which attempted to cross thesmooth road were rolled over and over long distances by astrong wind, but as soon as they regained their feet they wereoff again and as often in the opposite direction. A1l threw themselves violently and exuded an abundance of green excrement
when touched, so that the large jarful that I brought home wascollected by means of a stick and a tin can.
They were feeding chiefly upon a desert primrose (Gnotherasp.) which was abundant at that season (March 30, L926). Allof these plants were either partially or entirely defoliated. They
were also observed to feed on locoweed (Astragalws sp.) anddesert malva (Sphceralceaqmbi,gua,Gray?).-E. O. trssig.