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Welcome to Neuropterology 2018!
Dear participants,
We warmly welcome you to the 13th International Symposium of Neuropterology
in Laufen on River Salzach. e symposium was initiated in 1980 and is organized
every three years. Aer the second symposium took place in Hamburg in 1984, this
is the second time that it is being held in Germany. More than 50 neuropterists from
17 countries from all over the world have been registered and will present and dis-
cuss their research. e symposium is accompanied by a one-day excursion for all
participants and a four-day post-symposium excursion for registered participants,
giving us the opportunity to explore the beautiful Bavarian landscape and the di-
versity of Neuropterida in southern Germany. e diverse topics of the symposium
organized in eight thematic sessions reect the interdisciplinary and diverse nature
of the conference. e wide range of perspectives on Neuropterida, from micro-
structures to taxonomy and from development to faunistics, oers the chance to
establish crosslinks between disciplines. We hope that this will encourage fruitful
discussions and help to foster new research ideas and alliances.
We hope you will enjoy the symposium!
e Organizing Committee
Michael Ohl, President of the International Association of Neuropterology
Axel Gruppe
Veronika Hierlmeier
Lukas Kirschey
Florian Weihrauch
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Neuropterology 2018: General informaon
Host
Bayerische Akademie für Naturschutz und Landschaspege (ANL)
Seethalerstraße 6
83410 Laufen/Salzach
Germany
Phone: +49 8682 8963−0
Symposium venue
Seminar- und Kongresshotel Kapuzinerhof
Schlossplatz 4
83410 Laufen/Salzach
Germany
Phone: +49 8682 954−0
Congress oce
in the Aula of the Kapuzinerhof, in front of the lecture hall:
Sunday 17 June 2018, 15:00–19:00
Monday 18 June 2018, 08:30–09:00
Tuesday 19 June 2018, 08:30–09:00
Wednesday 20 June 2018, 08:30–09:00
ursday 21 June 2018, 08:30–09:00
and upon request during all breaks
IAN business meeting
will take place in the Kapuzinerhof in the lecture hall on Wednesday 20 June 2018,
16:30–18:00.
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Neuropterology 2018: Agenda
Sunday, 17th June 2018
15:00 Congress oce and registration
17:00 Ice-breaker
18:00 Opening keynote lecture
Chair: Michael Ohl
On wings of lace: Diversity and evolution of Neuropterida
Michael S. Engel
19:00 Dinner
Monday, 18th June 2018
08:30 Congress oce and registration
09:00 Opening and welcome words
09:30 Session 1a. Phylogeny
Chair: Ulrike Aspöck
09:30 Keynote lecture
New insights into the phylogeny and evolution of Megaloptera
Xingyue Liu
10:30 Coee break
11:00 Session 1b. Phylogeny
Chair: Ulrike Aspöck/Michael Ohl
11:00 Phylogeny of Chrysopidae with an emphasis on morphological evolution
Laura C.V. Breitkreuz, Michael S. Engel, Shaun L. Winterton & Ivonne
J. Garzon-Orduna
11:30 Note on the immature stage and female morphology of Osmylus bi-
papillatus, with reference to the systematic signicance (Neuroptera,
Osmylidae)
Han Xu, Yongjie Wang & Zhiqi Liu
12:00 On the study of Korean Coniopteryginae (Neuroptera: Coniopterygi-
dae): Molecular trees conict between 16S and COI
Kim Seulki & Cho Soowon
12:30 Lunch
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14:00 Session 2. Fossils
Chair: Michael S. Engel
14:00 Geometric morphometrics and the evolution of wing patterns in fossil
Neuroptera
James E. Jepson, Maria E. McNamara, Dong Ren, Chaofan Shi &
Norman MacLeod
14:30 e Neuropterida from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar
Xiumei Lu & Xingyue Liu
15:00 New fossil Raphidioptera (Insecta: Neuropterida) in the Mesozoic of
northeastern China
Yanan Lyu
15:30 Mesozoic Chrysopidae: a review of current knowledge
Alexander Khramov
16:00 Coee break
16:30 Session 3. Neuropterology and beyond
Chair: Xingyue Liu
16:30 »Catálogo Taxônomico da Fauna do Brasil«: the technology contribut-
ing against taxonomic impediment − Neuroptera example
Caleb Califre Martins & Renato Jose Pires Machado
17:00 Setting up a Neuropterology research lab: Synergistic experiences in
undergraduate mentorship
Joshua R. Jones
17:30 Lacewings and Citizen science in Italy: a young but very promising re-
lationship
Agostino Letardi
19:00 Dinner
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Tuesday, 19th June 2018
08:30 Congress oce
09:00 Session 4. Morphology
Chair: John Oswald
09:00 Keynote lecture
Towards a homologization of the male genital sclerites of Coniopterygi-
dae (Neuroptera) – a tightrope dance
Ulrike Aspöck
10:00 Small, but oh my! Eects of miniaturization on the head anatomy in
Coniopterygidae
Susanne Randolf, Dominique Zimmermann & Ulrike Aspöck
10:30 Coee break
11:00 Session 5. Development, chemical ecology and micro-structures
Chair: Susanne Randolf
11:00 Metathetely and its implications for the distribution of Raphidioptera
Horst Aspöck, Viktoria Abbt, Ulrike Aspöck & Axel Gruppe
11:30 Chemical ecology of Chrysopidae: perspectives of synthetic attractants
Sandor Koczor, Ferenc Szentkirályi & Miklós Tóth
11:00 e dimensions of the dust of dustywings (Neuroptera, Coniopterygi-
dae)
Sarah Bastyans, Felix Fenzl, Michael Gebhardt & Axel Gruppe
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Mid-congress tour
Coach journey, incl. brown-bagged dinner, collecting and light-trapping.
First stop: Weitsee-Lödensee (until 18:00), second stop: Schönramer
Filz (aer 18:00)
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Wednesday, 20th June 2018
08:30 Congress oce
09:00 Session 6a. A focus on Myrmeleontidae
Chair: Dušan Devetak
09:00 Keynote lecture
Into the pit: evolution, diversity and biology of the larvae of Myrmele-
ontiformia
Davide Badano
10:00 In search of Myrmeleon bore: Bavaria’s rarest Neuropteran?
Florian Weihrauch
10:30 Coee break
11:00 Session 6b. A focus on Myrmeleontidae
Chair: Bruno Michel
11:00 Predatory behavior of two antlion species under dierent conditions
Vesna Klokočovnik & Dušan Devetak
11:30 Behavioral, bioenergetic and morphological characteristics of ant lion
larvae with obligatory (sit-and-wait) and facultative pit building strat-
egies, respectively, under natural and laboratory conditions (Neuro-
ptera, Myrmeleontidae)
Cristiano Pires
12:00 e genus Nosa Navás, 1911 (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae, Palparinae)
André Prost
12:30 Owlies are derived antlions: anchored phylogenomics and a revised
phylo genetic classication of the family Myrmeleontidae (Insecta:
Neuro ptera)
Renato J.P. Machado, Jessica Gillung, Shaun L. Winterton, Ivonne J.
Garzon-Orduna, Alan Lemmon, Emily Lemmon & John Oswald
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Poster session (including a brief oral presentation to each poster of
max. 3 minutes)
Chair: Florian Weihrauch
16:00 Coee break
16:30 IAN business meeting
19:00 Dinner
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Thursday, 21st June 2018
08:30 Congress oce
09:00 Session 7a. Faunistics and biogeography
Chair: Horst Aspöck
09:00 Keynote lecture
Neuropterida from South America: large diversity, largely unknown
Caleb Califre Martins
10:00 Fantastic lacewings and where to nd them
Agostino Letardi & Roberto A. Pantaleoni
10:30 Coee break
11:00 Session 7b. Faunistics and biogeography
Chair: André Prost
11:00 e impact of forest re and wind-throw on Neuroptera, Raphidio-
ptera and Mecoptera
Peter Duelli, Beat Wermelinger, Marco Moretti & Martin K. Obrist
11:30 Lacewings (Neuropterida: Neuroptera, Raphidioptera) in three Na-
tional Parks in the Balkan Peninsula: Results of short collection trips
Dušan Devetak, Predrag Jakšić, Vesna Klokočovnik, Tina Klenovšek,
Jan Podlesnik, Franc Janžekovič & Hubert Rausch
12:00 Neuroptera of the region of Missour (Morocco)
Michel Bruno & Alexandre François
12:30 Neuroptera in two protected sand dune areas in the southern rim of the
Pannonian Plain
Dušan Devetak, Predrag Jakšić, Tina Klenovšek, Jan Podlesnik, Franc
Janžekovič & Daniel Ivajnšič
13:00 Lunch
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14:30 Session 7c. Faunistics and biogeography
Chair: Agostino Letardi
14:30 Ascalaphidae larvae from Costa Rica
Johannes Gepp
15:00 Golden-eyed diversity (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in the agro-forest
area of Amanous Mountains, Turkey
Hakan Bozdoğan
15:30 To the limit: Altitude records of Neuroptera in the Bavarian Alps
Florian Weihrauch, Axel Gruppe & Alfred Karle-Fendt
16:00 Coee break
16:30 Session 8. Taxonomy
Chair: Caleb Califre Martins
16:30 What is really the sub-species nanceiensis Séméria, 1980 of the Com-
mon green lacewings Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) sensu lato?
(Neuroptera, Chrysopidae)
Dominique ierry & Michel Canard
17:00 Crucial rst steps for a revision of the Pseudomallada prasinus group in
Europe (Neuroptera:Chrysopidae)
Peter Duelli
17:30 Closing ceremony: Outlook and farewell
19:00 Congress Dinner in a typical Bavarian brew pub (coach journey)
Friday, 22nd June 2018
10:00 Departure to post-congress eld trip (4 days)
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Neuropterology 2018: Posters
Distribution of the green lacewing in France by regions – In the frame of the
LDL Lacewing Digital Library / World Neuropterida Faunas Module
Michel Canard, Dominique ierry & Matthieu Giacomino
e current state of knowledge of Polish Chrysopidae: research history, distri-
bution and present-day problems
Roland Dobosz
A review of the current state of knowledge of Mesozoic Mantispidae
James E. Jepson & Michael Ohl
Preliminary results of NEUIT (Barcoding of Italian Neuropterida) project
Agostino Letardi, Davide Badano & Paul D.N. Hebert
Seven new species, one neotype, one new male and new distribution records for
Isostenosmylus Krüger, 1913 (Neuroptera: Osmylidae)
Caleb Califre Martins, Adrian Ardila-Camacho, Renato Jose Pires Machado, Oliver
S. Flint, Jr. & Lionel A. Stange
Mantispidae of the Área de Conservación Privada (ACP) Panguana, Peru
Ernst-Gerhard Burmeister, Michael Gebhardt & Axel Gruppe
What is the presumed owly illustrated in Aldrovandi’s De animalibus insectis
(1602)?
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
On some morphological abnormalities found in Neuroptera
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
Contribution to the study of the ne structure of the egg in the genus Pseudo-
mallada Tsukaguchi, 1995 (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae)
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
Geographic and seasonal range of the antlions recorded in the United Arab
Emirates
Anitha Saji, Zamzam Alrashdi, Pritpal Soorae & Shaikha Al Dhaheri
Imaginal diet of Chrysoperla renoni (Lacroix, 1933) (Neuropterida, Chrysopidae)
Johanna Villenave-Chasset, Dominique ierry & Michel Canard
Diverse beaded lacewings from the Cretaceous Burmese amber
Yongjie Wang, Shuo Huang & Dong Ren
Current status and species diversity of the Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions &
owl ies) in the United Arab Emirates
Zamzam Alrashdi, Anitha Saji, Pritpal Soorae & Shaikha Al Dhaheri
10
Neuropterology 2018: Abstracts
(in chronological order)
Opening keynote lecture
On wings of lace: Diversity and evoluon of Neuropterida
Michael S. Engel
University of Kansas & American Museum of Natural History, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence,
KS 66045, USA; <msengel@ku.edu>
e last 25 years of systematic research into the superorder Neuropterida (Raphidi-
optera, Megaloptera, and Neuroptera), have brought signicant changes to our under-
standing of the evolution of lacewings, snakeies, dobsonies, and their diverse rela-
tives. Phylogenetic estimations based on diverse data sources, ranging from adult and
larval morphology to genomes, have begun to converge on enduring patterns, and fasci-
natingly many corroborate hypotheses put forth by Cyril Withycombe nearly a century
ago. e synthesis of these data along with continued exploration of the neuropteridan
fossil record has given a new perspective on the historical evolution and classication of
Neuropterida, requiring a revision of their higher organization and providing focus on
future directions for neuropterology.
Session 1. Phylogeny
Keynote lecture
New insights into the phylogeny and evoluon of Megaloptera
Xingyue Liu
Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R. of China;
<xingyue_liu@yahoo.com>
Megaloptera is a basal holometabolous insect order as a group of “living fossils” whose
evolutionary history attracts great interest because of its antiquity and important sys-
tematic status in Holometabola. Here the current knowledge and recent progress on the
phylogeny and evolution of Megaloptera are summarized. e global species diversity
of extant Megaloptera is overviewed. e fossils of Megaloptera are critically discussed.
e intergeneric phylogeny of Megaloptera based on morphological data gave a com-
pelling hypothesis on the diversication and historical biogeography of Megaloptera.
However, the present phylogenetic study based on mitochondrial genomic data pro-
vides new evidence for understanding the phylogeny and evolution of Megaloptera.
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Phylogeny of Chrysopidae with an emphasis on morphological
evoluon
Laura C.V. Breitkreuz, Michael S. Engel, Shaun L. Winterton & Ivonne J.
Garzon-Orduna
University of Kansas, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Biodiversity Insti-
tute and Natural History Museum, 2041 Haworth Hall, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence,
KS 66045, USA; <l.breitkreuz@gmail.com>
e neuropteran family Chrysopidae, commonly known as green lacewings, is a small
and ancient clade of cosmopolitan insects, with delicate adults and a rather curious
predatory larval stage. Currently, three subfamilies are recognized, Apochrysinae,
Chrysopinae and Nothochrysinae. However, their evolutionary relationship remains
uncertain as previous attempts, using small morphological data sets or only molecular
data, have led to inconclusive results. To further understand chrysopid relationships
and morphological character evolution, we inferred a multi locus phylogeny from a
large molecular data set of seven genes (16S, COI, CAD, 18S, PepCK, WG and ATPase),
and mitogenomic data, in combination with a substantial morphological character ma-
trix, including ca. 75% of all known genera. We here focus on the morphological char-
acter evolution inferred from the resulting phylogenetic hypothesis. All subfamilies and
most tribes are found to be monophyletic with high support, but the tribe Ankyloptery-
gini renders Chrysopinae paraphyletic. We further investigate the amount of fusion in
the chrysopid wing, which is unprecedented in Neuroptera, and which is one of their
most conspicuous characters. Besides the traditionally used forewing and male genitalic
traits we added a substantial set of hitherto overlooked characters in this study, which
are phylogenetically informative especially on higher taxon level, such as vein fusions in
fore and hindwing, tibial spurs, tarsal setae and many more. e discussion of charac-
ters such as the parameres and gonapsis, wing fusions and larval trash carrying behavior
is in the center of this study. Our results show, that numerous homoplastic characters
have been subject of convergence and multiple origins or are simply retained plesiomor-
phies in Chrysopidae, as they occur in several not closely related lineages. e presented
work gives insight in the genus level relationships within Chrysopidae and the underly-
ing morphology, including divergence times and character evolution.
Note on the immature stage and female morphology of Osmylus
bi papillatus, with reference to the systemac signicance
(Neuroptera, Osmylidae)
Han Xu, Yongjie Wang & Zhiqi Liu
Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, P.R. of China;
<hanny_90@163.com>
e genus Osmylus Latreille (Osmylidae: Osmylinae) contains 21 species distributed
in the Palaearctic and Oriental regions and only one species, O. fulvicephalus (Scopoli,
1763), is found in Europe while the rest is distributed in Asia. Relative to the stud-
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ies on taxonomy of the osmylid adult, the larva is less concerned about. As far, the
larva of seven species has been described: Osmylus fulvicephalus (Scopoli, 1763),
O.hyalinatus McLachlan, 1875, O. pryeri McLachlan, 1875, O. tessellatus McLachlan,
1875, Spil osmylus avicornis (McLachlan, 1875), Stenosmylus tenuis (Walker, 1853) and
Isosten osmylus sp. But these larvae were not described in detail and then compared until
M (2016). Furthermore, the biology of the immature stage of osmylid larvae
remains mysterious. e terminal instar larva and female of Osmylus bipapillatus Wang
& Liu, 2010 are described. e larva is characteristic of six setae on frontal edge of
cranium, four setae on DPm2 of mesothorax and four setae on the DPp2 from 1st to 7th
abdomen segments. And there is a curved and ngerlike processus on the forcoxa of the
female but not in male, probably representing a sexual dimorphism in Osmylidae. And
biology of the immature stage is also illustrated and recorded.
On the study of Korean Coniopteryginae (Neuroptera: Conio-
pterygidae): Molecular trees conict between 16S and COI
Kim Seulki & Cho Soowon
Chungbuk National University, Chungdae-ro 1, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk 28644,
South Korea; <neurosk84@gmail.com>
e subfamily Coniopteryginae is a highly diversied group of Coniopterygidae. Pre-
viously, only two species of Coniopteryginae were recorded in Korea: Semidalis aley-
rodiformis and Conwentzia pineticola. Here we provide a preliminary molecular phylo-
genetic relationship of the Coniopterygidae of Korea based on two mitochondrial
genes, 16S rRNA and COI. e result showed that genetic diversity level, on average,
of the COI sequences was much higher than that of the 16S sequences. While the 16S
rRNA tree is similar to the MP or ML tree of Wang and Liu (2007), the COI tree is dif-
ferent in that Conwentzia is paraphyletically grouped with Semidalis before being a
sister group to Coniopteryx, and Spiloconis is sister to (Heliococonis+Coniocompsa).
While the S. aleyrodiformis-like species in the tree show enough sequence variations to be
considered as dierent from S. aleyrodiformis, most of them are either morphologically
same or sub-species in other studies. is result needs a discussion on how to solve the
problematic issue regarding the aleyrodiformis species complex.
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Session 2. Fossils
Geometric morphometrics and the evoluon of wing paerns
in fossil Neuroptera
James E. Jepson, Maria E. McNamara, Dong Ren, Chaofan Shi & Norman Mac-
Leod
University College Cork, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh, College Road, Cork T12 K8AF,
Ireland; <james.jepson@ucc.ie>
Wing colour patterns are the basis of diverse insect communication strategies and so
are critical to understanding evolutionary processes aecting this group, especially the
roles of innovation, homology, and convergence. Fossil insects oen exhibit wing colour
patterns. However, with the exception of a single study on eyespot patterning in Kalli-
grammatidae, there has been no systematic investigation of the evolution of fossil insect
colour patterns. We have investigated colour patterns in Middle Jurassic neuropterans
from the Daohugou Lagerstätte in China using novel geometric morphometric meth-
ods. Digital wing images from 270 specimens were placed into 11 broad morphogroups
(e.g. vertical stripes, apex pattern, eyespots, spots) visually, and then analysed directly
using eigenimage analysis. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of specimens
can be organized into color-pattern clusters that correspond broadly to our informal
visual groupings, thus conrming the ability of the eigenimage technique to represent
geometric color-pattern groups correctly. However, regions of overlap do occur between
these informal pattern groups, suggesting that such qualitative visual categorizations
may not be mutually exclusive geometrically. ese results indicate that quantitative,
geometric methods of analysis can be applied to non-traditional morphometric data
and can be used to include such data in studies of evolutionary diversity through time.
The Neuropterida from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar
Xiumei Lu & Xingyue Liu
China Agricultural University, 17 Qinghua E Rd, Haidian Qu, Beijing Shi, P.R. of China,
100083; <xiumeilu@cau.edu.cn>
is presentation summarizes the current research progress of the systematics of Neuro-
pterida from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Hitherto, totally 76 species in 67
genera 22 families are recorded. We make emphasis on the taxonomy and phylogenetic
study of Kalligrammatidae and Myrmeleontidae etc.
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New fossil Raphidioptera (Insecta: Neuropterida) in the Mesozoic
of northeastern China
Yanan Lyu
China Agricultural University, 17 Qinghua E Rd, Haidian Qu, Beijing Shi, P.R. of China,
100083; <lvyanan214@cau.edu.cn>
e fossil snakey from the Lower Cretaceous (upper Barremian) of the Yixian Forma-
tion of Liaoning Province, China and the Middle Jurassic (Aalenian–Bajocian) of the
Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China is reviewed. Ten genera and een
species are recorded. A key to genera of Baissopteridae and a key to Mesoraphidiidae
are provided.
Mesozoic Chrysopidae: a review of current knowledge
Alexander Khramov
Borissiak Palaeontological Institute, Profsoyuznaya str. 123, Moscow, Russia;
<a-hramov@yandex.ru>
Today, the Chrysopidae is the second largest family of Neuroptera, comprising about
1,200 species. First green lacewings appear in fossil record in the latest Middle Jurassic.
e earliest record of Chrysopidae has been reported from Daohugou locality, Chi-
na (K et al. 2015). Green lacewings have been quite abundant in the Middle
Jurassic-Early Cretaceous localities since their rst appearance. e percentage of speci-
mens of Chrysopidae to all fossil Neuroptera is 1.2% in Daohugou, 11.4% in Karatau
(Upper Jurassic), 11.5% in Baissa, 17.3% in Khasurty, 30.3% in the Yixian formation
and 5.2% in Bon-Tsagan; the last four localities are Early Cretaceous in age (K
2018).
Almost all Mesozoic green lacewings belong to the extinct subfamily Limaiinae, except
for a couple of rare genera, whose subfamily aliation is not established. Cosmopolitan
genus Mesypochrysa Martynov, 1927 and very closely allied genera, which are likely to
be its synonyms (K et al. 2015), make up the majority of Mesozoic Limaiinae
(>90% of specimens). Mesypochrysa can be seen as the most abundant and widespread
taxon among all Mesozoic lacewings. Nineteen species of Mesypochrysa have been de-
scribed to date. Apart from Asian region, this genus was reported from Early Cretaceous
Durlston Formation (England) and Crato Formation (Brazil). Besides Mesypochrysa,
there are three well-established genera of Mesozoic Limaiinae: Baisochrysa Makarkin,
1997, Aberrantochrysa Khramov, 2018 and Parabaisochrysa Lu et al., 2018. In contrast to
Mesypo chrysa, these genera are present only at 1–2 localities each, with very few speci-
mens known. Mesypo chrysa and Baisochrysa existed during the Late Jurassic-Early Creta-
ceous, Aberrantochrysa and Parabaisochrysa during the Early Cretaceous only. e Upper
Cretaceous record of Chrysopidae is scarce, with the only one bad-preserved specimen
of Cretachrysa Makarkin, 1994 described from the Cenomanian of the Far East (Russia),
which probably belongs to Limaiinae.
Except for Parabaisochrysa xingkei Liu et al., 2018 from the Burmese amber, all other
adult specimens of Mesozoic green lacewings come from rocks, so the Mesozoic amber
15
record of adult Chrysopidae is almost non-existent. e situation with the larvae of
Mesozoic green lacewings from the Cretaceous ambers is somewhat better (in rocks
they are absent). Chrysopoid larvae Hallucinochrysa Perez-de la Fuente et al., 2012 was
described from Albian Spanish amber. is bizarre-looking creature bore long tubercles
on its back, used for carrying plant debris. Chrysopoid larvae with similar modica-
tions were reported from Burmese and Lebanese ambers (Wang et al. 2016). However,
subfamily or even family aliation of these larvae with long tubercles is unknown, for
such extremely elongated abdominal structures have no parallels in any extant species of
Chrysopidae. eoretically, these larvae could represent immature stages of Limaiinae
or some members of Chrysopoidea (N et al. 2005). Finally, newly-hatched lacewing
larva described from Campanian Canadian amber as Chrysopidae (E G
2008) belongs to Berothidae, according to W et al. (2013).
Extant subfamilies of Chrysopidae enter the fossil record only in the Cenosoic era.
Limaiinae, once ourished in the Mesozoic, survived into the early Eocene as a minor
part of green lacewing assemblage, outnumbered by Nothochrysinae. e extinction of
Limaiinae was probably linked to the rise of ants, which became much more numerous
during the Eocene (K 2015). e larvae of Limaiinae could have lacked defense
mechanisms, like trash-carrying behavior and high maneuverability, which are needed
for feeding on aphids and other Sternorrhyncha protected by ants. If this hypothesis is
correct, we could expect to nd plump-bodied naked Mesozoic larvae without abdomi-
nal tubercles alongside with Hallucinochrysa-like specimens, with the former belonging
to Limaiinae, and the latter to some other group of Chrysopoidea. To settle the question,
more study is needed on green lacewings larvae from Lebanese, Spanish and Burmese
and other Cretaceous ambers.
e project is supported by RFFI grant 16-04-01498.
Session 3. Neuropterology and beyond
»Catálogo Taxônomico da Fauna do Brasil«: the technology
contribung against taxonomic impediment − Neuroptera example
Caleb Califre Martins & Renato Jose Pires Machado
Universidade de São Paulo, FFCLRP, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Vila Monte Alegre, Ribeirão
Preto – SP, 14040-900, Brazil; <calebcalifre@gmail.com>
e Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna Brasileira (CTFB) is an online website (fauna.jbrj.
gov.br), which was elaborated by a team of more than 500 zoologists (mostly Brazilian)
who have worked in an integrated way to generate the rst valid species list to dierent
Brazilian animals groups. is is an initiative from the Brazilian Society of Zoology and
aims to reduce taxonomic impediment in Brazil. Brazil is a megadiverse country with
117,295 animal valid species cataloged, of which 84,500 are Hexapods. Neuroptera is
updated by two researchers (Renato Jose Pires Machado and Caleb Califre Martins) and
currently has 421 valid species and 79 genera with conrmed records for 24 States and
16
possible occurrence to remaining three Brazilian States. Brazil has representatives of all
seven Neuroptera superfamilies and ten out of 16 families (Coniopterygidae, Sisyridae,
Osmylidae, Dilaridae, Hemerobiidae, Berothidae, Mantispidae, Chrysopidae, Ascala-
phidae, Myrmeleontidae). It is important to highlight the high degree of endemism of
the Brazilian Neuroptera (217 endemic species, more than 50% of the recorded species).
e most diverse families are Chrysopidae with 183 species (117 endemic), followed by
Mantispidae with 51 species (15 endemic), Myrmeleontidae with 47 species (14 endem-
ic) and Coniopterygidae with 46 species (31 endemic), which were all recently revised,
except for the Myrmeleontidae that will probably be second-most diverse soon.
Seng up a Neuropterology research lab: Synergisc experiences
in undergraduate mentorship
Joshua R. Jones
Utah Valley University, 800 W University Pkwy, Orem, UT 84058, USA;
<doc.jonesresearch@gmail.com>
For most of us, scientic research is at the heart of our neuropterological experience.
Oen, the most elucidating results arise through collaborations among peers with com-
plementary skill sets. For those of us in the academe, however, we are oen expected to
devote a considerable portion of our limited time to mentoring students who may not
yet have a full suite of research skills, and this may seem like a draw upon our research
productivity. However, through vision, careful planning, and eective guidance, we can
help young people with little background preparation to learn eective research tech-
niques, and to make professional-level, collaborative, research contributions.
In this presentation I describe my experience in setting up a small Neuropterolo-
gy research lab, and in bringing in a team of young and diverse students with limited
research backgrounds to participate in the research process. I describe how I deter-
mined my objectives, interacted with department leadership to secure permission and
logistical support, procured lab space, materials, and nancial resources, recruited stu-
dents, trained them, and helped them to set their own goals to accomplish a diversity
of research-based, mutually-benecial, publication-quality outcomes. ough all still
in development, anticipated products include museum-quality arthropod collections,
publication-ready scientic illustrations, monograph reference material databases, in-
teractive taxonomic websites, and more.
Lacewings and Cizen science in Italy: a young but very promising
relaonship
Agostino Letardi
ENEA, Lungotevere aon di Revel, 76, 00196 ROMA, Italy; <agostino.letardi@enea.it>
Citizen science is growing as a eld of research with contributions from diverse disci-
plines, promoting innovation in science, society, and policy. Citizen science platforms
(i.e. iNat, https://www.inaturalist.org/) and capacity-building programmes foster the
17
visibility of projects and establish networks for knowledge exchange within and among
members of the citizen science community. Several recent events of citizen science in
Italy (mainly by means of bioblitzes) gave a new perspective to the knowledge of Neuro-
pterida in Italy.
Session 4. Morphology
Keynote lecture
Towards a homologizaon of the male genital sclerites of Conio
pterygidae (Neuroptera) – a ghtrope dance
Ulrike Aspöck
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria;
<ulrike.aspoeck@nhm-wien.ac.at>
e most famous denition of homology is to be found in O’s (1843) glossary:
“HOMOLOGUE e same organ in dierent animals under every variety of form and
function”. It expresses exactly the phenomenon we deal with when trying to homologize
the male genital sclerites of Coniopterygidae. Our philosophy behind this trial is a triple
strategy:
i) e hypothesis of serial homology of genital sclerites (irrespective excessive trans-
formations or losses), ii) e hypothesis of the gonocoxite-concept, and iii) gonocoxite
patterns trump accessory patterns.
Archaeognathan Machilidae are equipped with serially homologous gonocoxites,
gonostyli and gonapophyses in the abdominal segments and serve as a model for Neuro-
pterida where these sclerites are restricted to the terminal segments and are adapted to
copulatory function (A A 2008). e whole set is rarely expressed. e
identity of the genital sclerites representing this set may be camouaged by excessive
modelling of form, by reduction, or even loss, by shiing, or by fusion of sclerites to
sclerite-complexes. In Neuropterida segments 9, 10, and 11 are concerned. In a rst step
it has to be considered to which segment a specic sclerite belongs. In a second step it
may be addressed as gonocoxite, gonostylus or gonapophysis 9, 10 or 11. If gonocox-
ites, gonostyli or gonapophyses are not discernible in the compound of a sclerite this
complex may just be addressed as gonocoxite-complex 9, 10, or 11. In case of doubt-
ful sclerites a hypothesis in the sense of the gonocoxite concept is of more heuristic
value than to hypothesise accessorial de novo structures and create new names for the
Brucheiserinae – apart from their unusual appearance – surprise with a complete set of
genital sclerites comprising unambiguously elements of gonocoxite-complexes 9, 10,
and 11. e evidence of spiracula in segment 8 and a callus cerci (S 2007) exhibit
a rather plesiomorphic pattern within the family.
Coniopteryginae – in spite of their heterogeneity and oen bizarre modications con-
cerning genital sclerites – allow to interpret gonocoxite-complexes 9, 10, and 11.
18
Certain genera of the Aleuropteryginae face us with the phenomenon of a terminal
sternite 8, whereas sternite 9 is invaginated and considerably modied or even lost.
However, the gonocoxite-complex 10 may serve as a landmark.
e present hypothesis of a sister-group relationship Brucheiserinae + Conio-
pteryginae as sister-group of Aleuropteryginae (Z et al. 2009) is upheld. e
phylogenetic position of Coniopterygidae within Neuroptera – either as sister-group of
the rest or as sister-group of the dilarid-clade, or nested somewhere else – is still unsettled
but might be promoted by the current campaign of homologization.
A U. A H. 2008. Phylogenetic relevance of the genital sclerites of Neuro-
pterida (Insecta: Holometabola). Systematic Entomology 33: 97–127.
O R. 1843. Lectures on the comparative anatomy and physiology of the invertebrate
animals, delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons, in 1843. Longman, Brown, Green
and Longmans, London.
S G. 2007. Studies on Brucheiserinae (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae), with de-
scription of the second genus of the subfamily. Acta zoologica Academiae Scientiarum
hungaricae 53 (Suppl. 1): 231–254.
Z D., K W. A U. 2009. e rst holistic SEM study of Conio-
pterygidae (Neuroptera) – structural evidence and phylogenetic implications. European
Journal of Entomology 106: 651–662.
Small, but oh my! Eects of miniaturizaon on the head anatomy
in Coniopterygidae.
Susanne Randolf, Dominique Zimmermann & Ulrike Aspöck
Zoological Department, Natural History Museum Vienna & Department of Integrative Zoo-
logy, University of Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria;
<susanne.randolf@nhm-wien.ac.at>
e evolution of extremely small body size is a common phenomenon in dierent in-
sect orders. Structural, physiological and physical constraints have dramatic eects on
the morphology and result in reduction, simplication and morphological novelties.
Among Neuroptera the Coniopterygidae are the midgets, with a forewing length of only
2–5 mm. e eects of miniaturization on their head anatomy and convergent modi-
cations in other miniaturized insect species are outlined. In Coniopterygidae mini-
aturization results in a relative increase of the brain size, a simplied tracheal system,
a reduced number of ommatidia and a reduced diameter of the facets, a bell-shaped
ocular ridge, a weakly sclerotized cuticle and the presence of wax glands.
e phylogenetic placement of miniaturized clades oen represents a challenge, as
the consequences of miniaturization can hamper the phylogenetic signals. is is cer-
tainly true for Coniopterygidae and is reected in the various positions they have taken
in the neuropteran tree. e support for a position as sister group to the rest of Neuro-
ptera versus one as sister group to the dilarid clade is discussed.
19
Session 5. Development, chemical ecology and micro-structures
Metathetely and its implicaons for the distribuon of Raphidio
ptera
Horst Aspöck, Viktoria Abbt, Ulrike Aspöck & Axel Gruppe
Institute of Specic Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Medical Parasitology, Medical Univer-
sity of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria; <horst.aspoeck@meduniwien.ac.at>
It is well-known that snakeies need a decrease of temperature during hibernation to
develop to adults. Most species of both families of the order (Raphidiidae, Inoceliidae)
need usually two years (rarely one year, but sometimes several years) for the completion
of the life cycle, whereby the last larval stage (of 9 to 15 instars) overwinters as the ma-
ture larva in quiescence, pupates in spring and yields the adults usually +/- two weeks
later. is mode of life cycle represents Type I (A 2002). [In Type II pupation
happens already in autumn, the pupa hibernates and yields the adult in spring, while in
Type III the larva pupates in (early) summer, the adult hatches a few weeks later.] Most
species of Raphidiidae and probably all Inocelliidae represent Type I.
If a hibernation of the last larval stage with a chilling period is withheld, the larva can-
not pupate properly, but achieves only an incomplete pupation with pathomorphologi-
cal characters of antennae, of eyes, appearance of wing pads and sometimes disordered
last abdominal segments. is phenomenon has been called prothetely, but in reality it
represents metathetely in the form of an unsuccessful pupation. Prothetely means ap-
pearance of characters of a later stage, metathetely means that characters of the prior
stage remain unchanged. is is the case in metathetelic snakeies: ey look like larvae
with a few pathomorphological pupal characters, and they move like larvae. Sometimes
only slight alterations (e.g. by enlarged eyes) can be observed, but nevertheless they are
the result of an unsuccessful pupation. Usually these metathetelic pupae die aer a few
weeks, but very rarely they can even moult and lead to disordered adult.
us, it is apparent that decrease of temperature during winter is a precondition for
the occurrence of snakeies, and, indeed, so far, Raphidioptera have only been found
in regions with decreased temperature in winter. ese are large parts of the Palaearctic
region as well as of the Nearctic region and in higher altitudes in the transition zones
to the Orientalis and to the Neotropis respectively. e tropical regions as well as the
Southern Hemisphere lack Raphidioptera.
Recent experimental studies have shown that the necessary degree of chilling tem-
perature on one hand and the length of the chilling period on the other hand are dif-
ferent in dierent species (A 2016, A et al. 2018). is may explain why some
species have large distributions, while others are restricted to very small areas. So far the
hormonal physiology of the phenomenon of metathetely has not yet been investigated.
ere is still a large open eld of research.
A V. 2016. Temperaturmodell für die Entwicklung von Raphidioptera-Larven. Mas-
ter esis, Technische Universität München. 69pp.
20
A H., A V., A U. G A. 2018. e Phenomenon of Metathetely,
formerly known as Prothetely, in Raphidioptera (Insecta: Holometabola: Neuropterida).
Entomologia generalis [in press].
A H. 2002. e biology of Raphidioptera: A review of present knowledge. – In: G.
S: Neuropterology 2000. Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium
on Neuropterology, 6–9 August 2000, Budapest, Hungary. Acta zoologica Academiae
Scientiarum hungaricae 48 (Suppl. 2): 35–50.
Chemical ecology of Chrysopidae: perspecves of synthec
aractants
Sandor Koczor, Ferenc Szentkirályi & Miklós Tóth
Plant Protection Institute, CAR, HAS, 1022 Budapest, Herman Ottó út 15, Hungary;
<koczor.sandor@agrar.mta.hu>
Acquirement or exchange of information through chemical substances is a very ances-
tral form of interaction between an individual and its environment. Several organisms
use chemical stimuli for orientation to food sources, partners or to avoid potential haz-
ards. Chemical ecology deals with the chemical mechanisms included in these intra-
and interspecc interactions, and the compounds involved are called semiochemicals.
Green lacewings (Chrysopidae) as predatory organisms are important agents of bio-
logical control and some species are available commercially as well. However, these are
generally from international sources and may contain non-native species, why it seems
more feasible to apply native species in biological pest control. A promising way to at-
tract native lacewings present in the environment to a given site could be achieved by
the use of semiochemicals.
Several reports are available on response of green lacewing adults to olfactory stimuli,
such as plant-, aphid- or lacewing-derived semiochemicals. In some cases the behavio-
ral eects of these stimuli are very remarkable, including inuence on oviposition site
choice of females.
Our aim is to provide a brief overview of the chemical ecology of Chrysopidae, in-
cluding perspectives from the view of both research and practical applications.
e research was partially supported by the PD115938 NKFIH grant and the János
Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
The dimensions of the dust of dustywings (Neuroptera, Conio-
pterygi dae)
Sarah Bastyans, Felix Fenzl, Michael Gebhardt & Axel Gruppe
Chair for Zoology, Entomology group, Technical University Munich, Hans-Carl-von-
Carlo witz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany; <gruppe@wzw.tum.de>
Most neuropterists know Coniopterygidae in two dierent forms: whitish, ying insects
or translucent specimens immersed in alcohol. e dusty cover of Coniopterygidae was
21
studied more than one decade ago by N et al. (2003). According to this work, the
‘dust’ consists of wheel-like micro-structures secreted from wax-glands on the insect’s
body. Chemically, it is composed mainly of lipids with a 24-carbon fatty acid as main
component.
Apart from this study, not much is known about the dustywing micro-structures.
erefore, we dened six parameters to quantitatively describe the dimensions of the
structures, which were measured on SEM micrographs.
We present pictures and data of the micro-structures found on the bodies of the
species Aleuropteryx juniperi, Helicoconis luteus, Coniopteryx pygmaea and Semidalis
pseudo uncunata. e shape of the structures of all species conforms to N et al.
(2003), but we found two dierent structure types in Aleuropteryginae. Some dimen-
sional parameters dier signicantly from species to species. We conclude that there
might be a phylogenetic signal in these structures apart from a hitherto unknown func-
tion of the micro-structures.
Session 6. A focus on Myrmeleondae
Keynote lecture
Into the pit: evoluon, diversity and biology of the larvae of
Myrmeleonformia
Davide Badano
DISTAV, University of Genoa, Corso Europa, 26, 16132 Genova GE, Italy;
<davide.badano@gmail.com>
Myrmeleontiformia comprise several entirely fossil groups and few extant families:
Psychopsidae, Nymphidae, Nemopteridae, Myrmeleontidae + Ascalaphidae and, ac-
cording to recent phylogenomic evidence, Ithonidae. No systematic or phylogenetic dis-
cussion about the relationships among and within these families could be undertaken
without considering their larvae, an extraordinary source of phylogenetic data. Highly
adept ambush hunters, the larvae of Myrmeleontiformia are characterized by trap-like
jaws, strongly sclerotized head capsule, complex head-thorax articulation and special-
ized body setae and protuberances. Moreover, they developed remarkable strategies to
increase the eectiveness of their hunting technique, such as camouaging, burrowing
and, in some antlions, pit-building. From the shadows of Mesozoic forests to the shin-
ing glare of today’s deserts, myrmeleontiforms colonized a diverse array of terrestrial
microhabitats in spite of a relatively conservative morphology. Fossil and phylogenetic
clues suggest that Myrmeleontiformia evolved as arboreal predators and later independ-
ently invaded soil in dierent lineages. Although several myrmeleontiforms still thrive
in their ancestral arboreal niche, most species are associated with soil, especially in arid
environments. In particular, Myrmeleontidae were remarkably successful in exploiting
diverse microhabitats, partitioning themselves in dierent ecological niches to avoid
reciprocal competition.
22
In search of Myrmeleon bore: Bavaria’s rarest Neuropteran?
Florian Weihrauch
Osmylus Scientic Publishers, Postfach 1212, 85280 Wolnzach, Germany;
<mail@osmylus.com>
According to current knowledge, the district of Kelheim harbours an extremely isolated
population of Myrmeleon bore, representing the only known Bavarian population of
this species and in addition the only known population north of the Alpine arc up to
the Upper Rhine Valley in Rhineland-Palatinate. In order to elucidate the actual status
of this occurrence of M. bore, which is of nationwide signicance, in 2012 the regional
situation of funnel building Myrmeleontidae was monitored.
In the course of the study, a method was developed to discriminate the three Myrmele-
ontidae species occurring in the area, Euroleon nostras, Myrmeleon bore and M. formi-
carius, as second and third instars in the eld. In total, more than 5,000 ant-lion fun-
nels were recorded and assigned to one of the three species by determining 5–10% of
unearthed larvae per funnel eld. Using only the maximum number of funnels found
during each monitoring, a total of 776 individuals of E. nostras, 323 of M. bore, and
2,886 of M. formicarius were identied. In a conservative extrapolation, annual larval
populations of at least 2,000 E. nostras, 1,000 M. bore and 10,000 M. formicarius are to
be expected in the area.
e occurrence of M. bore was conrmed with certainty only for a partial area near
Oenstetten, where it was found on a small scale in ve subareas. is underscores the
urgent need to protect M. bore in the region, because the only Bavarian population
could become extinct by a single emergency. Targeted searches for the species in other
dune regions of Bavaria, especially in Franconia, did not yield another record of M.bore
so far.
Predatory behavior of two antlion species under dierent
condions
Vesna Klokočovnik & Dušan Devetak
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška cesta 160,
2000 Maribor, Slovenia; <vesna.klokocovnik@um.si>
Antlion larvae show little behavioral plasticity during prey capture and feeding, their
repertoire of behavioral patterns is more or less stereotyped. In this study we observed
behavior of two antlion species, a pit-builder (Euroleon nostras) and non-pit-builder
(Neuroleon microstenus), both considered as ambush predators but with dierent preda-
tory strategies. We exposed larvae to dierent conditions during prey capture and feed-
ing and compare their behavior to the control group, where larvae were undisturbed.
We used two dierent stimuli, visual and vibrational and for the non-pit-building larvae
we also change substrate to smaller particle size. In the non-pit-building larvae we also
observed consistency of the behavioral pattern called prey carcass removal.
Behavioral patterns during prey capture and feeding occurred with variable frequen-
cy depending on the condition in both species. We noticed two main dierences in
23
behavior under the stimuli: a) quiescence, when larvae were exposed to stimuli, and
b)increased frequency of changing ambush position aer feeding in the non-pit-build-
ing larvae.
Prey clearing pattern was not consistent in individuals. Either larva removed prey
with dropping or tossing. Under the stimuli larvae use prey dropping more frequently
compared to the control group. e research was preliminary and more observation
needs to be done.
Behavioral, bioenergec and morphological characteriscs of ant
lion larvae with obligatory (sitandwait) and facultave pit building
strategies, respecvely, under natural and laboratory condions
(Neuroptera , Myrmeleondae)
Cristiano Pires
Universidade Pedagogica, Rua Comandante Augusto Cardoso, Maputo, Mozambique;
<cristo.pires@gmail.com>
Myrmeleontidae larvae belonging to two dierent prey capture strategies were investi-
gated, namely the so-called sit-and-wait larvae (also obligatory pit builders) and larvae
with facultative construction strategy. e latter is also called mixed strategy, since their
individuals can either construct traps for an ambush strategy, or they can also actively
hunt their prey. e larvae of the two strategies dier in their body morphology and
in the morphology of their traps. e aim of this research was to conduct comparative
studies on the behavior and morphology of the respective population. e success of the
two predation strategies is used to infer about their phylogenetic evolution and adapta-
tion mechanisms used by this group of Myrmeleontidae.
e research was totally experimental, using only individuals from the L3 larval stage.
In addition to the biometric method, a morphological analysis was performed based on
microscopy. e main parameters of analysis were: the mass of the individuals, the tam-
pon of the traps, the construction timing and the energy balance. All these parameters
diered signicantly between subjects of the two strategies.
The genus Nosa Navás, 1911 (Neuroptera, Myrmeleondae,
Palpari nae)
André Prost
1 rue de l’église, F-39320 LOISIA, France; <andre.prost@free.fr>
e genus Nosa, introduced by Navás in 1911, was redened by I C (1989).
Fieen taxa were at some point assigned to the genus, although as a result of synony-
mies S’s (2004) catalog recognizes only two species, Nosa tigris (Dalman) and
Nosa tristis (Hagen). A review of the type material, based essentially on male genitalia,
indicates that the taxon tristis Hagen and its two subspecies, tristis niansanus Kolbe and
tristis brevifasciatus Stitz, do not belong to Nosa and should return to the group of spe-
24
cies within African Palpares that have not been assigned to new genera yet. On the other
hand it is proposed to consider that the genus Nosa Navás consists of four valid species
Nosa leonina Navás, Nosa tigris (Dalman), Nosa hamata (Kolbe), and Nosa adspersa
Navás. Synonymies are discussed. e known geographical distribution of each species
is given.
Owlies are derived antlions: anchored phylogenomics and a
revised phylogenec classicaon of the family Myrmeleondae
(Insecta: Neuroptera)
Renato J.P. Machado, Jessica Gillung, Shaun L. Winterton, Ivonne J. Garzon-
Orduna, Alan Lemmon, Emily Lemmon & John Oswald
Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA;
<j-oswald@tamu.edu>
e rst phylogenomic analysis of the antlions is presented, based on 325 gene loci
captured using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment techniques. A total of 215 species were
analyzed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian techniques. e included species
consisted of 170 traditional Myrmeleontidae, 37 putative near-outgroups from the larg-
er Myrmeleontoidea, and 8 far-outgroups from the non-myrmeleontoid Neuroptera.
Both Myrmeleontidae (antlions) and Ascalaphidae (owlies) were recovered as para-
phyletic with respect to each other. e subfamilies traditionally assigned to Myrmele-
ontidae and Ascalaphidae were also recovered as either para- or polyphyletic. Almost
all antlion tribes sensu S (2004) were recovered as monophyletic, but almost all
subtribes were recovered as paraphyletic. us, the results obtained share some simi-
larities, but many incongruences, with the traditional classication of Myrmeleontidae.
A new phylogenetic repartitioning and reclassication of the antlions and owlies is
proposed based on these results. e new structure incorporates the Ascalaphidae into
the Myrmeleontidae and divides the expanded Myrmelentidae into four subfamilies –
Ascalaphinae, Myrmeleontinae, Dendroleontina, Nemoleontinae – and 18 tribes. Some
of the more interesting phylogenetic results of the new analysis will be discussed.
Session 7. Fauniscs and biogeography
Keynote lecture
Neuropterida from South America: large diversity, largely unknown
Caleb Califre Martins
Universidade de São Paulo, FFCLRP, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900 – Vila Monte Alegre, Ribeirão
Preto – SP, 14040-900, Brazil; <calebcalifre@gmail.com>
Known Neuropterida diversity includes about 6,500 extant species of alderies and
dobsonies (Megaloptera), snakeies (Raphidioptera) and lacewings (Neuroptera).
25
Neuro pterida has representatives worldwide, but Raphidioptera do not have extant rep-
resentatives in South America — snakeies are known to have inhabited the continent
due to the fossil record. South America has a complex geological history and heteroge-
neous relief and climate, rendering more than 25 biogeographical domains and great
biological diversity. Among the Neuroptera families, 12 occurs in South American with
more than 820 species distributed in 125 genera, while both families of Megaloptera
are present with ca. 60 species in seven genera. Chrysopidae is the neuropterid family
with largest number of species in South America (319); Leucochrysa is the most diverse
genus, with more than 100 described species; Myrmeleontidae has the highest number
of genera (33). e Neuropteroid fauna has a relatively high diversity in the continent,
as well as a considerable degree of endemism even at higher taxonomic levels – 48% (63
of 132) of the genera of the group are known to occur only in South America. ere is
a huge hidden, unknown diversity of the group in South America; it is estimated that at
most 50% of the species diversity of the group has been described so far, number even
less for immature stages, which demonstrates the necessity for further studies to under-
stand this diversity in South America.
Fantasc lacewings and where to nd them
Agostino Letardi & Roberto A. Pantaleoni
ENEA, Lungotevere aon di Revel, 76, 00196 ROMA, Italy; <agostino.letardi@enea.it>
Do some mythical Neuropterida really appear only in benecial astral conjunctions, or
is our eco-ethological knowledge of these fantastic insects too patchy yet? Some exam-
ples from the decades of our eld experiences are given.
The impact of forest re and windthrow on Neuroptera, Raphidio
ptera and Mecoptera
Peter Duelli, Beat Wermelinger, Marco Moretti & Martin K. Obrist
Swiss Fed. Inst. Forest, Snow & Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr. 111, CH-8903 Bir-
mensdorf, Switzerland; <peter.duelli@wsl.ch>
In Swiss forests, the mid-term eects of forest res and wind-throws on species com-
positions of Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, and Mecoptera were assessed in four dier-
ent projects with standardized ight interception traps. e four disturbances ranged
from wind-throws in alpine spruce forest and lowland deciduous forest to winter forest
res and summer res. irty species were too scarce for quantitative analyses, but of
the other 52 species 73% proted from the disturbance and became more abundant in
the years aer the re or wind-throw. More species (18) were most abundant in mod-
erately disturbed forest than in strongly disturbed plots (16). Only 14 species, mainly
Hemerobii dae, had their maxima in the undisturbed forest. A table is provided listing
species per disturbance and ranging them as over-all winners (more specimens in dis-
turbed plots) or losers (more specimens in undisturbed forest).
26
Lacewings (Neuropterida: Neuroptera, Raphidioptera) in three
Naonal Parks in the Balkan Peninsula: Results of short collecon
trips
Dušan Devetak, Predrag Jakšić, Vesna Klokočovnik, Tina Klenovšek, Jan
Podlesnik, Franc Janžekovič & Hubert Rausch
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška cesta 160, 2000
Maribor, Slovenia; <dusan.devetak@guest.arnes.si>
During the course of three neuropterological Balkan expeditions in 2014, 2015 and 2017,
short visits to three national parks were conducted. A survey of the collected lacewing
species (Neuropterida: Raphidioptera, Neuroptera) in the Fir of Drenova National Park,
Albania, the Tara National Park, Serbia, and the Pelister National Park, Macedonia, is
presented. e distribution and ecological traits of some rare and interesting lacewing
species are discussed.
Neuroptera of the region of Missour (Morocco)
Michel Bruno & Alexandre François
Cirad, 389 Avenue Agropolis, 34980 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France; <bruno.michel@cirad.fr>
e region of Missour is located in the Oriental region of Morocco. A survey on Myr-
mele ontidae and Ascalaphidae was carried out during several years. Results of the col-
lections are presented.
Neuroptera in in two protected sand dune areas in the southern rim
of the Pannonian Plain
Dušan Devetak, Predrag Jakšić, Tina Klenovšek, Jan Podlesnik, Franc Janžekovič
& Daniel Ivajnšič
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška cesta 160, 2000
Maribor, Slovenia; <dusan.devetak@guest.arnes.si>
e Pannonian Plain is large sedimentary lowland in Central/South-eastern Europe.
Two protected sand dune areas in the southern rim of the Pannonian Plain were occa-
sionally surveyed for the presence of Neuroptera. e smaller one, Djurdjevac sands in
Croatia, occupying about 0.2 km2, is a special geographical and botanical reserve. e
larger area, Special Nature Reserve Deliblato sands in Vojvodina province, Serbia, covers
about 300 km2. In these reserves, among other lacewings, a few rare antlion species were
recorded. Vegetation dynamics of the study areas was determined with a multispectral
LANDSAT satellite imagery. To evaluate the change in vegetation density, a vegetation
index (NDVI) was used for each time window. Moreover, a pixel level regression tool
was applied to measure the dynamics and pattern of the succession process. As a result
of the ecological succession (in both reserves) and reforestation (in Deliblato sands) in
the past, the rate of the habitat loss and degradation process of the sand dune ecosystems
increased to the level less suitable for the antlions assemblages.
27
Ascalaphidae larvae from Costa Rica
Johannes Gepp
Institute for Nature Conservation, Herdergasse 3, 8010 Graz, Austria;
<j.gepp@naturschutz institut.at>
Four dierent Ascalaphidae larvae were found in the coastal regions of Costa Rica. e
external morphology and behaviour are described. e at larvae are coloured in cam-
ouage and are exceedingly inactive. ey spend weeks sitting on the surface areas of
big leaves where they, in a cautiously selective manner, catch insects which are climbing
past them. e duration of development lies between one and two years. Captive breed-
ing up to the state of imagines is challenging and rarely successful.
Golden-eyed diversity (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in the agro-forest
area of Amanous Mountains, Turkey
Hakan Bozdoğan
Department of Herbal and Animal Production, Technical Vocational School of Kırşehir,
University of Ahi Evran , 40100, Kırşehir, Turkey; <hakan.bozdogan@ahievran.edu.tr>
is study was conducted in the Amanous Mountains in Turkey. e collected lacewing
specimens from agro-forest area of Amanous Mountains identied and estimation of
species richness, species evenness, and species diversity were made by Shannon diver-
sity Index. e data was obtained during May–October 2017 by netting, hand picking,
pitfall traps and light traps. A total of 341 individuals belonging to 12 species from ve
genera of Chrysopidae were successfully identied from both study sites. e results
showed that the undisturbed forest had higher abundance and diversity of lacewing
families as compared to disturbed forest. e eects of site characteristics and habitat
complexity on golden-eyed family diversity are discussed.
To the limit: Altude records of Neuroptera in the Bavarian Alps
Florian Weihrauch, Axel Gruppe & Alfred Karle-Fendt
Osmylus Scientic Publishers, Postfach 1212, 85280 Wolnzach, Germany;
<mail@osmylus.com>
In the years 2002–2017 records of adult Neuropterida were taken cursorily during ex-
cursions to high altitudes of the Bavarian Alps. Although this was not a targeted study,
the data will help to shed some light on hitherto unknown vertical distribution limits of
several species in Germany. Altogether, twelve species were recorded at altitudes above
1,300 m above sea level. Especially those records from the actual Sub-alpine and Alpine
altitudinal belt, which begins above the timber line at 1,500 m a.s.l. are noteworthy and
can be attributed to eleven species (3 Chrysopidae, 7 Hemerobiidae and 1 Raphidiidae).
Current record holders are the green lacewing Chrysoperla lucasina Lacroix, 1912 (seem-
ingly a species found regularly at high altitudes) and the snakey Phaeostigma notata
(Fabricius, 1781), both recorded at 2,200 m a.s.l. A special record is also that of one
28
male Peyerimhona gracilis (Schneider, 1851) (Chrysopidae), which was collected on
28th March 2018 on a snow eld at 1,900 m a.s.l. – however, this record is very likely due
to inactive dri of this individual by foehn winds from warmer regions south of the Alps.
Session 8. Taxonomy
What is really the sub-species nanceiensis Séméria, 1980 of the
Common green lacewings Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836)
sensu lato? (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae)
Dominique ierry & Michel Canard
12 rue Martin-Luther-King, F-49000 Angers, France; <dominique.thierry@wanadoo.fr>
e taxon nanceiensis was compendiously described long ago and assignated a sub-spe-
cies of the complex of the Common green lacewings. e recent discovery of specimens
of the original cohort allowed us to give several characters displaying all the basic traits
of Chrysoperla anis (Cc4 into the song-species system) of which it might be desig-
nated a legitimate member and become then a new synonym. e conspicuous cephalic
ornamentation was tentatively cleared up.
Crucial rst steps for a revision of the Pseudomallada prasinus group
in Europe (Neuroptera:Chrysopidae)
Peter Duelli
Swiss Fed. Inst. Forest, Snow & Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstr 111, CH-8903 Bir-
mensdorf, Switzerland; <peter.duelli@wsl.ch>
e identity of some of the species in the prasinus group are not clearly dened. With
a focus on the most wide-spread and most abundant species, two sympatric morphs
of P. prasinus Burmeister 1839 were reared and hybridized in search of reproductively
separated species. In addition, 28 morphological or biological traits were recorded for
live and preserved specimens of most of the European species in the prasinus group.
In cross-breeding experiments, Pseudomallada “marianus”, and “greenhead prasinus”,
turned out to be separate species, morphologically and biologically distinct when alive.
“Greenhead prasinus” are small to medium sized and deposit eggs singly, without ob-
ligatory diapause in the second instar. In living specimens there is a red or brown suture
below the eyes, which can fade with age or preservation. P. “marianus” is large, deposit-
ing bundled eggs, with an obligatory diapause in about half of the L2. In none of the
collected or reared P. “marianus” a red or brown suture was observed below the eyes.
Pseudomallada marianus is conrmed as a synonym of P. prasinus, depositing bun-
dled eggs, whereas all the smaller morphs of P. “prasinus”, depositing single eggs, mostly
correspond to the type specimen of C. aspersa Wesmael 1841 – and are morphologically
distinct from P. abdominalis.
29
Poster session
Distribuon of the green lacewings in France by regions − In the
frame of the LDL Lacewing Digital Library / World Neuropterida
Faunas Module
Michel Canard, Dominique ierry & Matthieu Giacomino
12 rue Martin-Luther-King, F-49000 Angers, France; <dominique.thierry@wanadoo.fr>
ere are 50 valid species of Chrysopidae in France, mainland and Corsica together
without oversea collectivities. None is considered endemic to France. Few species were
very rare, encountered as quasi-unique specimens, coming from outside. Contrary to
this rare occurrence, some species were recorded in all the regions.
The current state of knowledge of Polish Chrysopidae: research
history, distribuon and presentday problems
Roland Dobosz
Upper Silesian Museum Bytom, pl. Jana III Sobieskiego 2, Bytom 41-902, Poland;
<dobosz@muzeum.bytom.pl>
Neuropterida are represented in Poland by 103 species from nine families. Chrysopidae
(31 species) is one of the two largest families, second only to Hemerobiidae (34 spe-
cies). e rst studies from the early 19th century (Perthes manusc. W 1806) de-
scribed two species of green lacewings from the area of present-day Poland. From 1802
to 2017 y-six authors (as the only or the rst co-author) published 134 papers dealing
with Chrysopidae. On the basis of bibliographical data and unpublished studies, green
lacewings have been found to occur at 542 sites in 455 UTM squares.
A review of the current state of knowledge of Mesozoic Manspidae
James E. Jepson & Michael Ohl
University College Cork, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh, College Road, Cork T12 K8AF,
Ireland; <james.jepson@ucc.ie>
To-date there have been 30+ fossil specimens of Mantispidae recorded. Within the Meso-
zoic specimens there have been 11 genera and 13 species of mantispid described. e
rst recorded mantispid in the fossil record is from the Lower Jurassic of Germany. Oth-
er Jurassic mantispids are known from China and Kazakhstan. Cretaceous mantispids
are known from the Lower Cretaceous of Siberia and China. In the Upper Cretaceous
they are recorded from Kazakhstan and Burmese amber. e majority of taxa are placed
within the extinct subfamily Mesomantispinae, with the exceptions of Liasso chrysa and
Promantispa that are in the extant subfamily Drepanicinae, and Dorato mantispa that is
considered to be Mantispidae incertae sedis. e aforementioned fossils are considered
to be true mantispids, displaying diagnostic characters, both from wing venation and
30
body morphology, which give strong evidence for their anity. In addition to these,
there are Mesozoic fossils that show similar characters to Mantispidae, in their wing
venation and body morphology, e.g. the presence of raptorial forelegs, these have oen
been identied as Mantispidae. ese mantispid-like fossils can be separated into two
subfamilies currently placed in Berothidae: Mesithoninae and Paraberothinae. Mesi-
thoninae species are found in the Jurassic of Asia, and Paraberothinae are found in am-
ber: from the Cretaceous of Lebanon, Burma, France, USA, and Canada. We review the
current state of knowledge of Mesozoic mantispids.
Preliminary results of NEUIT (Barcoding of Italian Neuropterida)
project
Agostino Letardi, Davide Badano & Paul D.N. Hebert
ENEA, Lungotevere aon di Revel, 76, 00196 ROMA, Italy; <agostino.letardi@enea.it>
DNA barcoding aims at providing an ecient method for species level separation using
a partial sequence of the mitochondrial COI gene. But DNA barcode represent just one
important descriptor in the framework of the multidimensional species approach. A
huge eort of morphological and faunal studies has been realized for the Neuropterida
of Italy: the goal of the present project is to create a DNA barcode library for a signicant
number of Italian species.
Seven new species, one neotype, one new male and new
distribuon records for Isostenosmylus Krüger, 1913 (Neuroptera:
Osmylidae)
Caleb Califre Martins, Adrian Ardila-Camacho, Renato Jose Pires Machado,
Oliver S. Flint, Jr. & Lionel A. Stange
Universidade de São Paulo, FFCLRP, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900 – Vila Monte Alegre, Ribeirão
Preto – SP, 14040-900, Brazil; <calebcalifre@gmail.com>
e genus Isostenosmylus Krüger, 1913 (Stenosmylinae) is endemic to South America
and was erected based on wing venation features, with Osmylus pulverulentus Gerst-
aecker, 1894 as the type species. Later more species were added to the genus: Iso-
stenosmylus morenoi (Navás, 1928), I.fusciceps Kimmins, 1940, I. fasciatus Kimmins,
1940, and I.nigrifrons Kimmins, 1940. Was only recently that some new species were
added: I.contrerasi Ardila-Camacho & Noriega, 2014, I.septemtrionalandinus Ardila-
Camacho & Noriega, 2014, I. bifurcatus Ardila-Camacho et al., 2016, I.irroratus Ardila-
Camacho et al., 2016, I. julianae U. Aspöck et al., 2016 totalizing 10 species and for the
genus. e study of recent material from South America revealed seven new species for
Iso stenosmylus (totalizing 17 species) increasing the distribution of the genus to Colom-
bia (Antioquia), Ecuador (Sucumbío), Peru (Cuzco and Machu Pichu), Bolivia (La paz)
and Brazil (Paraná) and Argentina (Tucumán) (new country record); we also erected a
Neotype to I. morenoi, described the male of I. irroratus increasing its distribution to
31
Lara State (Venezuela), we also report new records for I. pulverulentus to Paraná State,
Brazil and to department of Alto Paraná, Paraguay (new country record). e next steps
of this study will focus on the phylogeny and biogeography of the genus.
Manspidae of the Área de Conservación Privada (ACP) Panguana,
Peru
Ernst-Gerhard Burmeister, Michael Gebhardt & Axel Gruppe
Chair for Zoology, Entomology group, Technical University Munich, Hans-Carl-von-
Carlo witz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany; <gruppe@wzw.tum.de>
Mantispidae are among the most familiar but least studied Neuroptera worldwide.
Although revisions are needed, recent reviews of Mantispidae allow determination of
many species from the Neotropics. So far, no summary of Mantispidae of Peru has been
published, but, according to H (2017), six species are assigned to that country.
We studied Mantispidae collected in the ACP Panguana in the Peruvian primary low-
land rainforest. 78 specimens have been collected around the ACP Panguana in the last
two decades, most of them with light traps. Except of two eld trips in 2015, Neuroptera
have never been the focus of these eld trips.
Altogether, 16 species have been collected with Dicromantispa grasilis (Erichson,
1839) (52.2%) and Zeugomantispa virescens (Rambur, 1842) (16.6%) being the most
abundant ones. Nine out of 16 species are represented by one specimen only. ir-
teen species have been recorded for the rst time for Peru. Consequently, 19 species of
Manti spidae are currently known from Peru.
What is the presumed owly illustrated in Aldrovandi’s
De animalibus insecs (1602)?
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
Department of Sustainable Crop Production (DI.PRO.VE.S.), Università Cattolica del Sacro
Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense, 84 – 29122 Piacenza, Italy; <rinaldo.nicoli@unicatt.it>
With his work De animalibus insectis (1602), U. Aldrovandi (Bologna 1522 – Bologna
1605) occupies a prominent place in the history of entomology. e work includes many
descriptions and woodcuts of insects, a number of which today are also identiable at
the level of genus or species, thanks in part to the series of hand-drawn and watercolored
“Tavole di animali” (Tables of animals) the author had prepared for making woodcuts
for the printed work. For a number of insects, Aldrovandi‘s descriptions and illustra-
tions are the oldest recognizable in entomological literature. Insects today referable to
some Myrmeleontidae and to one Chrysopidae are recognizable in the entomological
work by Aldrovandi and have already been studied (N A 2007). However,
among his butteries and moths we also nd the description and illustration of a rather
enigmatic insect, which could be an owly (Ascalaphidae), although there is some un-
certainty, partly due to the discrepancy between its color as shown in the “Tavole di
animali” (under the name Papilio subcastaneus) and the description provided in the
32
printed work; above all the combination of the chromatic features reported, which only
partially seem compatible with the current genus Libelloides or with other genera of
owlies, is perplexing. B (1929) qualies this insect as “(Ascalaphus sp.)”;
the use of brackets denotes perplexity on the part of this renowned historian of ento-
mology. However, of the insects treated by Aldrovandi this is not the only one to arouse
uncertainty regarding identication, at both morphological and chromatic levels.
On some morphological abnormalies found in Neuroptera
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
Department of Sustainable Crop Production (DI.PRO.VE.S.), Università Cattolica del Sacro
Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense, 84 – 29122 Piacenza, Italy; <rinaldo.nicoli@unicatt.it>
Morphological abnormalities in Neuropterida (Raphidioptera, Megaloptera, Neuro-
ptera) have been described and illustrated in the entomological literature only very
rarely. It seems that in the orders of Neuropterida, if we ignore the common anomalies
observable above all in wings of adult specimens which are either malformations pro-
duced during adult emergence or some slight and recurrent anomalies in wing venation,
such abnormalities are present less frequently than in some other orders of insects, such
as Coleoptera, for which there are also reports of true teratological cases of very obvious
deformation, which in contrast it would seem are never observed among Neuropterida.
As far as Neuroptera are concerned, the morphological anomalies observed include:
partial or total fusion of some contiguous antennomeres (e.g. in adult Coniopterygidae
and Hemerobiidae); atrophy of legs (e.g. in adult Chrysopidae and Myrmeleontidae);
anomalies of a certain importance, asymmetrical or symmetrical (bilateral) in wing ve-
nation (e.g. in Hemerobiidae and Chrysopidae); more or less signicant malformations
in male or female sclerotized structures of the terminalia (e.g. in Hemerobiidae and
Chrysopidae); and some other abnormalities. e present paper focuses attention on
some unpublished cases of such anomalies observed by the author, including an exam-
ple of unilateral antennal aplasia in an adult Myrmeleontidae.
Contribuon to the study of the ne structure of the egg in the
genus Pseudomallada Tsukaguchi, 1995 (Neuroptera Chrysopidae)
Rinaldo Nicoli Aldini
Department of Sustainable Crop Production (DI.PRO.VE.S.), Università Cattolica del Sacro
Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense, 84 – 29122 Piacenza, Italy; <rinaldo.nicoli@unicatt.it>
e advent of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) has considerably increased
knowledge of the external morphology of the egg of a good number of green lacewings
(Chrysopidae), particularly concerning the ne structure of the chorion surface and the
micropylar area. Progressive improvements to the SEM and related techniques of exam-
ining samples now result in images of ever better quality. To date, observations are avail-
able for various genera and several dozens of green lacewing species; a relatively large
number of them belong to the genus Pseudomallada Tsukaguchi, 1995 (Chrysopinae).
33
In Europe this genus includes about two dozen taxa of specic or subspecic rank, some
of which are dicult to discriminate and problematic as regards their systematic level:
research into ootaxonomy by SEM could at least potentially help to resolve some uncer-
tainties. e present preliminary work deals with the external morphology of the egg of
some European species of Pseudomallada. e ne structure of the chorion surface, mi-
cropylar area, length of the stalk, and egg distribution during oviposition can be all useful
elements for the above purpose. ese observations are compared with the data already
given in the literature and deserve to be extended, for this as well as other genera, to the
largest possible number of taxa of species-group and also to more populations of each
species from dierent geographic areas within the respective areal, to verify similarities
or dierences.
Geographic and seasonal range of the antlions recorded in the
United Arab Emirates
Anitha Saji, Zamzam Alrashdi, Pritpal Soorae & Shaikha Al Dhaheri
Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector. Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box.
45553, UAE; <asaji@ead.ae>
e antlions populate various desert and semi-desert habitats of the United Arab Emir-
ates (UAE) in high diversity. e number of antlion species is the highest among all neu-
ropteran families. Antlions (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae) were surveyed in the desert
areas of the Abu Dhabi Emirate, an area which supplies ample suitable species-rich habi-
tats for the antlion fauna. is study aims to summarize the present knowledge of the
antlion fauna of the UAE recorded and to examine the geographic and seasonal range
of adult antlions. A faunistic survey was conducted for adult myrmeleontids, using light
traps in desert sites more than two decades between 1993 and 2016. A total of 69 species
belonging to 26 genera were found, of which one is recorded as a species new to science
in the UAE. According to the data collected so far, there are seasonal peaks of activity,
a major one in April and May and the minor peaks in September, October and Novem-
ber. e geographic ranges of species are recorded and in which 70% antlion species
distribution records in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Four localities in particular (Al Ajban,
Sweihan, Al Aslab, Sultan Bin Tahnoon Farm area) stand out as having a larger number
of specimens and species than the other sites examined 964, 134, 33, 26 specimens and
25, 16, 10 & 11 species respectively. By comparison, a rich fauna of antlion species (121)
is known from the adjacent Saudi Arabian desert of Arabian Peninsula and the expected
species from UAE’s invertebrate fauna program indicate that the fauna of antlion has not
been suciently explored.
34
Imaginal diet of Chrysoperla renoni (Lacroix, 1933) (Neuropterida,
Chrysopidae)
Johanna Villenave-Chasset, Dominique ierry & Michel Canard
12 rue Martin-Luther-King, F-49000 Angers, France; <dominique.thierry@wanadoo.fr>
e natural food of the marsh green lacewing Chrysoperla renoni was described by ex-
amination of gut content of samples from France.
Diverse beaded lacewings from the Cretaceous Burmese amber
Yongjie Wang, Shuo Huang & Dong Ren
Capital Normal University, 105 West ird Ring Road North, Haidian District, Beijing,
100048, P.R. of China; <wangyjosmy@gmail.com>
Berothidae is a relatively small family of Neuroptera currently comprised approximately
110 extant described species in 24 genera throughout the world (nec Rhachiberothidae).
Up to now, 26 genera with about 40 species have hitherto been described in Berothi-
dae, which ranges from Middle Jurassic to Upper Eocene. e Cretaceous berothids
are extraordinarily diverse represented by the Myanmar amber that comprising about
nine genera and eleven species. Comparing to the compress fossil insects, the Myanmar
amber preserved more details of morphological features especially for the genitalia that
is generally hard to be preserved in the compress fossil. Herein, we summarized the
known Cretaceous Burmese berothids and also provided the information of genitalia
referring to four genera Haploberotha Engel and Grimaldi, 2008, Jersiberotha Grimaldi,
2008, Dasyberotha Engel and Grimaldi, 2008. Additionally, two new genus and species
were described, Magniberotha recurrens Yuan et al., 2016 and Maculaberotha nervosa
Yuan et al., 2016 that were assigned to the close aliations with Berothinae based on the
characters of genitalia. e outline of female genitalia of the Burmese amber berothids
is signicant to understand the classication of fossil Berothidae under the framework
of the recent insects, which lay the solid foundation to explore the historical evolution
of Berothidae incorporating both fossil and extant.
Current status and species diversity of the Neuroptera (lacewings,
antlions & owl ies) in the United Arab Emirates
Zamzam Al Rashdi, Anitha Saji, Pritpal Soorae & Shaikha Al Dhaheri
1Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity Sector, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box
45553, UAE; <zamzam.alrashdi@ead.ae or asaji@ead.ae>
e United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a remarkable biodiversity of insects and other
arthropods. e knowledge of Neuroptera in the various regions of the UAE is incom-
plete; in this paper, we specically deal with current status and species diversity of the
Neuroptera in the UAE. Based on the results of UAE Insect Project and EAD’s Inventory
35
project with specialists on arthropods signicantly improved the knowledge on UAE’s
Invertebrate fauna. ere are nearly 4,000 invertebrate species recorded in the Emirates,
including 172 species new to science. e order Neuroptera is the only group recorded
from the super-order Neuropterida (net-winged insects), which is a moderate insect
order in the UAE. From the geographical situation, various desert and semi-desert habi-
tats of the emirates supports suitable habitats where the ant lions (Myrmeleontidae)
populate in high diversity over the territory of the UAE. By comparison, the number
of neuropteran species known from the Arabian Peninsula includes records of 121 spe-
cies of Myrmeleontidae, 62 species of Coniopterygidae, 11 species of Ascalaphidae, 12
species of Nemopteridae, and 4 species of Chrysopidae. In the UAE, Myrmeleontidae
is the highest among all neuropteran families and currently includes 41 species. e
other families recorded are (with respective species numbers): Coniopterygidae (22),
Ascalaphi dae (5), Nemopteridae (3), Chrysopidae (5), Berothidae (1), Hemerobii-
dae(2) and Mantispidae (1). e record of Tomatarella hoelzeli, which is a new species
described from the UAE, suggests that our current knowledge of species diversity of
Neuropterida in the UAE is still incomplete and the probability of nding insect spe-
cies new to science is very high. Presently, biodiversity surveys are being carried out in
many protected areas to discover and to provide comprehensive analysis of the complete
Neuroptera fauna.
36
Neuropterology 2018: Parcipant list
Alrashdi Zamzam UAE zamzam.alrashdi@ead.ae
Aspöck Horst Austria horst.aspoeck@meduniwien.ac.at
Aspöck Ulrike Austria ulrike.aspoeck@nhm-wien.ac.at
Badano Davide Italy davide.badano@gmail.com
Bozdoğan Hakan Turkey hakan.bozdogan@ahievran.edu.tr
Breitkreuz Laura USA l.breitkreuz@gmail.com
Califre Martins Caleb Brazil calebcalifre@gmail.com
D’Auria Felicia Diodata Italy agostino.letardi@enea.it
Devetak Dušan Slovenia dusan.devetak@guest.arnes.si
Dobosz Roland Poland dobosz@muzeum.bytom.pl
Duelli Peter Switzerland peter.duelli@wsl.ch
Engel Michael J. USA msengel@ku.edu
Fenzl Felix Germany fenzlf@gmx.de
Frank Odile France andre.prost@free.fr
Gepp Johannes Austria j.gepp@naturschutzinstitut.at
Gruppe Axel Germany gruppe@wzw.tum.de
Han Xu China hanny_90@163.com
Jepson James E. Ireland james.jepson@ucc.ie
Jones Joshua R. USA doc.jonesresearch@gmail.com
Khramov Alexander Russia a-hramov@yandex.ru
Kim Seulki South Korea neurosk84@gmail.com
Kirschey Lukas Germany lukas.kirschey@mfn-berlin.de
Klokočovnik Vesna Slovenia vesna.klokocovnik@um.si
Koczor Sándor Hungary koczor.sandor@agrar.mta.hu
Krause Marianne Germany Marianne.Krause@anl.bayern.de
Kunjupillai Saji UAE sajienglish@gmail.com
Letardi Agostino Italy agostino.letardi@enea.it
Liu Zhiqi China liuzhiqi@cau.edu.cn
Liu Xingyue China xingyue_liu@yahoo.com
Lu Xiumei China xiumeilu@cau.edu.cn
Lyu Yanan China lvyanan214@cau.edu.cn
Michel Bruno France bruno.michel@cirad.fr
Nicoli Aldini Rinaldo Italy rinaldo.nicoli@unicatt.it
Ohl Michael Germany michael.ohl@mfn-berlin.de
Oswald John USA j-oswald@tamu.edu
Pires Cristiano Mozambique cristo.pires@gmail.com
Podlesnik Jan Slovenia jan.podlesnik@um.si
Prost André France prostloisia@gmail.com
Randolf Susanne Austria susanne.randolf@nhm-wien.ac.at
Ren Dong China rendong@mail.cnu.edu.cn
Saji Anitha UAE asaji@ead.ae
Shi Chaofan China paleobioscf@gmail.com
Stettmer Christian Germany Christian.Stettmer@anl.bayern.de
Szentkirályi Ferenc Hungary h2404sze@ella.hu
ierry Catherine France dominique.thierry@wanadoo.fr
ierry Dominique France dominique.thierry@wanadoo.fr
Tóth Judith Hungary h2404sze@ella.hu
Wang Yongjie China wangyjosmy@gmail.com
Weihrauch Florian Germany mail@osmylus.com
Weissmair Werner Austria w.weissmair@aon.at