LIBRARY

RAPHIDIODEA 397
which occur in the Miocene of Colorado no longer exist in the New World, but
are confined to the Palearctic region, one (Fibla) being restricted to the southern
part of Europe. This is strong evidence that the present snake-fly fauna of
North America has been newly formed since the Miocene, the Mid-Tertiary
fauna having been exterminated. The restriction of the recent genera in North
America to the Rocky Mountain and Californian regions points to the conclusion
that the present snake-fly fauna of North America has been derived
from eastern Asia through Alaska. This migration could easily have extended
southward along the Pacific coast into South America, giving rise to the two
isolated species of Agulla which occur in Central America and Chile."
KEY TO FAMILIES
(After Carpenter 1936)
1. Ocelli present; pterostigma bisected by a veinlet; antennal segments
smaller at bases . . .. .. RAPHIDIIDlE
2. Ocelli absent; pterostigma not bisected by a veinlet, antennal segments
cylindrical. INOCELLIIDJE
Family RAPHIDIIDJE Stephens 1836 (Raph/i-di/i-dre: see meaning under
order name). Long-necked snaketlies.
This, the dominant family, includes the genera Raphidia Linnreus 1758, the
first to be described and for many years the only genus and "catch-aU" for all
the various species described: Erma 1 Navas 1918; and Aguila Navas 1914, the
most widely distributed genus, which now includes nearly all species that were
placed in Raphidia.
The common raphidian, Agulla adnixa (Hagen) (Raphidia), is the commonest
and one of the most widely distributed species in North America, and yet
very little is known as to its biology. It ranges from the Pacific seashore to the
crests of the Sierra Nevada and of the Rocky Mountains to an elevation of at
least 9,000 it;
Agulla arizonica (Banks) and A. unicolor Carpenter also have a similarly
wide distribution in western North America.
There are at least 12 species of Rapkidia in Europe.
Raphidia hermandi Navas occurs in Japan.
Family INOCELLIIDlE Nav4s 1916 (In'o-cell-i/i-dre, from the Latin; meaning
without ocelli). Inocellids.
This family embraces but two genera, Inocellia Schneider 1843. which is Nearctic
and Palrearctic, and Fibla Navas, which is European.
The American species, Inocellia inflata (Hagen) (Raphidia) and I. longicornis
Albarda, have been collected only along the Pacific coast from southern British
Columbia to southern California and to western Nevada.
Inoceltia crassicornis Schummel is a Japanese species.
I The genus Erma was placed in a separate family. ERMIDiE. by Lestage 1928.