Frorn th,e Proceeili,mgs ol the Unnean Society of New Soutk Woleg,Vol. li, Part 3, 7926-

THE TRICHOCERIDAE OF. AUSTIIALIA(Drernne).

BY Crr.lnr-Ea P. Ar,nxewonn,.
Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, Masgachusetts' U.S.A.
(Cortununicated'bg Dr. E. W. Ferguson.)(Elleven Text-ffgures.)[Reatl28th JulY, 1926.][I6sued 15th September, 1926.]

s9 cTHE TRICHOCERIDAE

OF AUSTRALIA(Drrrnna).

By Caenr,ns P. Alnxlnonn,
Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
(Communicated bA Dr. E. W. Eerguson,)(Eleven Text-figures.)lRead 28th July, 1926.1
The genus Trichocera was proposed by Meigen in 1803 for a group of small
crane-flies that are eminently characteristic of winter conditions, beiDg mostcommonly noted in late autumn, early spring and during mild sunny days in
winter. I'or many years the genus was placed in close relationship to the
Tipulid gents Limnophitra Macqnart but is now known to be only distantly allied
to this senus. Even as recently as 1924, Pierre has Dlaced the group as a
subfamily of the Tipulidae. He has, moreover, included in this group the alpine
fly, Alfreili,a acrobata Bezzi, which is almost certainly a degenerate species ofLi,mnophi,Ia having nothing to do with the Trichoceridae. X'rom a study of thelarva and pupa, the writer (Alexander, 1920) removed Trichocera from the
Tipulidae and placed it as a subfamily, the Trichocerinae, of the family Aniso.
podidae. Still more recent work on the morphology of the adult flies has
demonstrated that Trichocero and the allied genera are more isolated than was
hitherto believed and they are now more generally conceded to represent a distinct
family, the Trichoceridae (Crampton, 1924,1925). The writer believes the superfamily Tipuloidea should include the following elements:
Psychodidae, with the subfamilies Bruchomyiinae, Phlebotominae andPsychodinae.
Tanyderidae.
Ptychopteridae.
Tipulidae, with the subfamilies Limoniinae, Cylindrotominae andTipulinae.
Trichoceridae.
Of these families, the Psychodidae, Tanyderidae and Ptychopteridae form aclosely related group, the Tipulidae a second, and the Trichoceridae a third that
leads toward the Anisopodidae.
Three genera of Trichoceridae have been described, the dominant genus of
the Holarctic region being Trichocera (genotype, hiem,atis De Geer) with a large
number of described species whose synonymy is still badly involved. A few species
occur in the higher mountains of the Oriental region and very recently Edwards(1923) has described a species, T. antarctica Edwards, from Campbell Island of
the subantarctic Islands of New zealand., the first true Trichocero from thesouthern Hemisphere. It should be noted that the European Trichocera annulata
Meigen occurs in New Zealand and victoria where it has presumably been carriedby modern transportation, the immature stages of the various species often
occurring in stored roots and tubers where they may cause some seeondary injury(Rh yn ehar t , 1925) .

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300

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TBICIIOCEBIDAI:OII AIIS'IBALIA'

Fig.2

Fig.4
Fig.5
Fig.6

Fig.?

F

\hFig.roFig.8-\=--__,"-------\

Fig.9

Fig.llFig. 1. Wing oL Dieosmo subsinuoto Alexander.
Fig. 2. Wing of Trlchocero hiemoks De Geer.
X'ie. 3. W'ing of Poroclo,itruro noori Alexantler.
.wing
Fig. 4.
of Nothotrichocero cirl'guldto' n. sP.
Fig.
5. Tarsus of T1'Lchocero h'demalis De Geer.
x'tgi" 6. Taraus of Nothotrfal?",cero olngul'at0, n. sp.
f is. ?. Tarsus ot PoroaloiLut'o m{tot"i Alexanaler.
tonnoiri, \' slt.
X'ig. 8, Ovipositor of Notlwtrichooero
I'ig:.. 9. Ovipositor of N. cinguloto, n. sp.
Fiei. 10. Ovipogitor of N. tercbreltr@, n. sp.
Fig:. 11. Ovipositor of N, tasmonicd, n. sp.

BY C. P. AT,EXANDER.

301

The second genus to be described, Diezosnxa Bergroth (genotype, hirtipenni,sSiebke) includes one or two Holarctic species. The flies are very rare and there
is still some question as to whether the Nearctic species, subsinuata Alexander, isidentical with the genotype of Europe. Since the ranges of most of the otherknown species of the family are so very restricted, since the differentiation of
species is often based on relatively slight characters of the male hypopygium, andsince several species of a given genus may occupy a small area, it seems advisable
to retain the tlvo names until more data become available and a direct comparisonof specimens can be made.
The third gents, Paraclad,ura Brnnetti, was proposed in 1911 (genotype,gracilis Brunetti) under the erroneous impression that the fly was allied to the
Eriopterine Tipulid gerLusCladura. The genus now includes 1l- species from New
Zealand,, l from the Aucklantl Islands, 2 from Formosa and Southern Japan, 2from the Himalayas and 1 from the western United States. Pa,racl,ad,uramay be
expected to occur in Eastern Australia.
Upon his recent expedition to Tasmania, Mr. A. L. Tonnoir secured specimensof Trichoceridae which were kindly submitted to me for study. The four speciesof these flies taken in Tasmania prove to represent a new genus, Nothotri,chocera,that curiously combines certain features oI Tri,ckocera and. Paraclail,ura. These
species of Nothotrichocera and. the records of Trichocera annulata Meigen forVictoria constitute the first references to the family in Australia. The types of
the new species have been returned to Mr. Tonnoir.
liev

to tkeGetteraoltrle Trichocerialae.

1 . Wings rvith vein znd A subsinuate, not short and curved abruptly
into the anal angle(x'ig. 1).. D i ,az os m a Ber gr oth
Wings with vein 2nd A short, curved abruptly
into the anal angle
2
Tibial spurs present (I'ig. 5) ; tarsi with.thelonger than segments 2 andbasitarsus(
Fiss.
3 taken together2, 5) ....
....
T r i c k oc er o M ei gen(Figs.
Tibialspurs lacking6, 7);
tarsi
withthe basitarsus
shorterthan tarsal
se gment 2......
3
Basitarsus
very short, only about t$'o to three times as long as vr/ide, shorter than the(Fig. 71 ; wings wit}r m-cw on Mo some distance beyonat thethiral tarsal segment
origin of the latter;
M.*. shorter than the basal section of M' the latter forming
thecaudal bord.er of cell 1st M, (I'is.
3) ....
Paracladura
Brunetti
Basitarsus
long, about
ten times as long as wide, longer
than
the thirtl
tarsalsegiment (Fig. 6 I ; wings wit}) m-cu on Ms+a close to its fork ; MB+{ long, the basal
section of M3 correspondingly
reduced and forming
the outer end of cell 1st M,(F i g. 4).. . . .. N othotr i c hoc er a,n. gen.

Norrro:rnrcnocnRA, n. gen.
Characters as in the family. Legs with the tibial spurs lacking; basitarsi
shorter than tarsal segment 2 but longer than tarsal segment 3, the segments
beyond the second gradually decreasing in length. Wings with a venation thatis much as in Tri,chocera but with cell 1st M, narrower and the inner end morepointed; m-cu close to the outer end of MB+4,
the basal section of M" taking partwith rtt in forming the outer end of cell 1st Mr. Ovipositor with compressed,
relatively horny, down-curved valves.
Genotype,Nothotrichocera tonnoiri, n. sp. (Australasian Region).
I{eA to the Species ol Nothotrichocera.
1.

Size large
Size small(wing,(r'inA,Q, over 6 mm.)
L under 5 mm.)

302

TIIE

TRICHOCEBIDAE

O}- AUSTRALIA'

of m; abdominal
petlole of cell Mr less.than twice the lengthdark brown;
Pronotumnarrowlyof the segments
Jaudalrrown,""ti!-'u*1""t"darttergites,margins gently curved to the subacute
only
elongate'valveswittr theovipositor
blackened;n' s p'' ' " " tonno4r i 'ti p s (!'i g. 8) ' . ..
petiole of cell M'
fulvous-yellow;
pronotumangles ot tne'post"rior
Lateral.broadly
the segments
m (F.ie' 4); abclomen dark brown'
three or more times irt""i"""ift"rovipositor with the valves short't€staceous;
yellowish
broaatly ringerl caudaily withn' stt'cinguleta'
to the acute tips (Fic' 9) '"'narlowed
strongly curved, g""O""ffvvellow;
obscurewithtippedhalterestheof;";;fi;--k;";stinseal with
3. winss
curvedstrongly.ru"yho"n-"olou.,witrr tire'viives'yettowisrr
ovipositor"o-p""."ed,n' sp'" " " terebrello'(Fie' 10)
: " " "'
to the neealle-like points
ovipositor
brown;
dark
entirely
halteresof'Wings tinged
tnous
o"t*"i"f'l*itt
onty' curve't gently to thewitlthof moderatewith the valves dusky horn-colour'n' sp'" ' tosmanice'11) "'
subacute tips (Fic'

2.

NorgornlcrrocEltA

ToNNorRr'n' sp'

wing 6'2-6'3mm'?. Lencth about 5'5'3 mm';
Antennae filiform' dark brown' the second
brown'
palpi
dark
Rostrum andflagellar segments elongate-cylintlrical'
scapal segment somewhat Baler apically;
succeeding segments very gratluallythesecond'thethe flrst a little tonger thanbrownish-yeilow, the centre of the vertex
increasing in length. Head obscureuu"Tloooro*
gibbous, dark brorvn, broadly
dark brown. Mesonotal praescutum
area and the parascutella
medianthebrown'
paler laterally; scutal lobes dark
obscure brownish-yellow' Pleura
paler; scutellum darker brown; postnotumon the sternopleurite' anepiespeciallyobscure yellow, variegate'l with brown'
pale' the knobs dark brown'
Halteres relatively elongate'sternum and the *""ott'faces somewhat darker;
outer
the
Legs with the coxae brownish testaceous'bases paler; tibiae and tarsi
theirbrown'
femoratrochanters brownish-yello'w;
the length of tarsal segment 2 and about
dark brown; basitarsus about two-thirclsoftarsal segment 4 two-thirds or lessB;segment
one_harf longer than tarsal
se gme ntS ; s egm ent Ss t lor t es t , ut it t t "I es s th a n o n e - t h i r d s e g m e nbrown,t 4 'Wi n goval;s w i t h veinsregion slighily darker
a strong brownish tinge, the stigmal
someendingScr
Rs;of
midlengthdark brown. venatioi: sc" shortly before
d ista nceb ef or er ; bas als ec t ionof R' andt er m i n a l s e c t i o n o f R 's u b e q u a l ; i n n e r
e nd ofcell ls t M , ac ut ely Boint ed; pet ioleof c e l l M 's h o r t 'o n l y a l i t t l e l oonly
n g e rgentlyt h a n curvedM'; vein 2nd A short'nx; rrL'cucloseto tne ouier end of cell 1st
to the margin.
caudal margins of the segments
Abdominal tergites dark brown' the extreme(x,is. 8) horn-co]oured,
ovipositor
palerbrown.
sternites
narrowly blackenecl;
tips.
subacute
thetowith the valves elongate, only gently curved.Elob.-Tasmania'(A' Tonnoir)'Holotype, i, Mt. Wellington, Novembet 25'1922
Na medinhonour of t hedis t inguis heds t u d e n t o f t h e D i p t e r a o f A ukincls t r a lfavours'
iaand
am indebted for many
New Zealand, Andr€ L. Tonnoir, to whom I
n' sP'
NoruotmcEocERA oTNGULATA'
tonnoiri' n' sp" differing asN'Lo
generalappearance
Very similar in size andfollows.
pronotum broadly fulvous-yellow' Wings
Lateral angles of the posterior
one-third shorter than the terminal
with the basal section of R' aboutof
three or more times the lengthaboutM'petiolecellofsection of Rr;

BY C. P. AI,I]XANDEII,.

303

rn; ]"eiD'2nd A rather strongly incurved to the margin (F.ig. 4). Abdomen dark
browuish-black, the segments broadly ringed caudauy with obscure yellowish
tegtaceous. ovipositor (Fis. 9) with the valves shorter, gradually narrowed,
strongly curved to the acute tips.
.EIoD.-Tasmania.
Holotype, t, Mt. Wellington, November 28, lgZZ (A. Tonnoir).

NorrrorsrcsocEnA TDREBBELLA,n. sp.
t. Length about 3.6 mm.; wing 4.6 mm.
Rostrum and parpi dark brown. Antennae dark brown, with the second
scapal segment pale apically. Head obscure yellow, slighily darker dorsomedially.
Pronotum dark brown, the anterolateral pretergites paler. Mesotrotum
relatively uniformly dark brown, the praescutum scarcely paler laterally;
scutellum more yellowish testaceous, with a small mediaa spot at base. pleura
pale brown, variegated with darker brown on the mesopleuraand meron. Haltereswith the apices of the knobs obscure yellow. Legs brown, relatively
slender;basitarsus relatively short, only about one-half the second segment which islongerthan Jhe segments beyond it taken together; third tarsal segment nearly twice
thelength of the fourth.
wings with a greyish tinge, the veins dark brown.
venation: Almost as in typical rrichocera; petiole of cell M1 fully three times,rr.
Abdomen dark brown, the genital segment paler. ovipositor (Fig. 10)withthe valves yellowish horn-colour, very compressed, strongly curved to
the needlelike tips.
IfoD.-Tasmania.
Holotype, 9, St. Patrick's River, altitude 1,200 feet, November L, IgzZ (L.
Tonnoir).
NorrrornrcrrocEnA TAsMANTcA,n. sp.
?. Length about 3.3 mm.; wing about 4.8 mm.
Generally similar to N. terebrerro, n. sp.
Praescutum and scutum dark brown medially, paler raterally.
pleuratestaceous, scarcely variegated with darker, Knobs of the halteres
entirely dark.
'wingswith a brownish tinge. venation: sc" shorily beyond one-third thelengthof Rs; basal section of Rr longer than the terminal section ol R1; petioleof cell M,
nearly three times nr.
Abdomen dark brown. ovipositor (Fig. 11) with the valvesdusky horncoloured, compressed,of moderate width only, very geaily curved tothe subacutetiPs.
IIaD.-Tasmania.
Holotype, g' King River, altitude b00 feet, t'ebruarv 4, Lgzg (A. Tonnoir).
T richo cera annulata Meigen.
(Trichocera annula,ta Meigen, Byst. Beschreib., 1, 1g1g,

218.)
victorid: Merbourne, 11th August, 1918, z8th June, 192b (c. r,. Hilr).
Tyers,
24to. May, 1925 (Miss Galbraith).
In the collection of the Natiopal Museum, Victoria.
As stated above, this European species was probabry introduced
in stored
vegetable products or, possibly, in manure.

r
gl

s04

TEE

TBICSOC'BIDAE

Otr' AUATBALIA.

to tf,c lHclocslilrc.
&cte"trcct',ccetrt crrne-fl€a
Past 1- . DlrtrSutlon'endof Nes YorkAr,D.anDEB, C. P., 191t.-Tbct{@. 25' ?67-993.
CorrcIl A*D,' AOr. Brpt.'gto.'
t3tonomy ot tbe adult flle*
Ibilt.'Part 2. Blolo8iy and phylogeny1920,-The cranerflies of New York.
Mem. 38, 692-1133.
of tho Orlental Tlpulitlae \f,ith alescrtltlons of nenT sltecies.
BRUNDES, Il., 1g11,-Revlsion
nec, Inil,lort U$aaam, 6, 286.2EE.
of Nematoon the phylogeny anal inter-relationships
cRAuproN, G. c,, 1924,-Remarks
Poache, SL, 258-242, flg.
corous Diptera,'scleritesof the non-Tipuloiat
phylogenetlc study of the thoraclc
1926.-A
49-69' Pls. 1-5.
ln*. E*t. $oc. Lmerbo,18'
Nomatoceroua Dipteraon the Dipterous family AnisoDodialae. Ann Nag, Not.
DwAaDs, x'. W., 1923.-Notes
f i i o t . ( 9 ) , 1 2 , 4 7 6 - 4 9 3 ,Pl. 1 6 .
8. Dlptareg. Tlpulldae' pp. 6-159' fi8is. 558.
PnmB!, C., 1924.-Fauno de ftance.
11 (Dipdtra,ragel^tb*ft
la.rve. and pupa o? Ttbhocett
J. e., f025.-Ttre
SrrirfrEl.rf,
RhyDhfatae). Proc. Bsl'a.t Not, E4tt, orrd ?hlL 8oc., S€!s. 1922'L923' 3-14' PfB' 1-3'