Comparative life-history responses of lacewings to changes in temperature.

Insects play a crucial role in all ecosystems, and are increasingly exposed to higher in temperature extremes under climate change, which can have substantial effects on their abundances. However, the effects of temperature on changes in abundances or population fitness are filtered through differential responses of life-history components, such as survival, reproduction, and development, to their environment. Such differential responses, or trade-offs, have been widely studied in birds and mammals, but comparative studies on insects are largely lacking, limiting our understanding of key mechanisms that may buffer or exacerbate climate-change effects across insect species. Here, we performed a systematic literature review of the ecological studies of lacewings (Neuroptera), predatory insects that play a crucial role in ecosystem pest regulation, to investigate the impact of temperature on life cycle dynamics across species. We found quantitative information, linking stage-specific survival, development, and reproduction to temperature variation, for 62 species from 39 locations. We then performed a metanalysis calculating sensitives to temperature across life-history processes for all publications. We found that developmental times consistently decreased with temperature for all species. Survival and reproduction however showed a weaker response to temperature, and temperature sensitivities varied substantially among species. After controlling for the effect of temperature on life-history processes, the latter covaried consistently across two main axes of variation related to instar and pupae development, suggesting the presence of life-history trade-offs. Our work provides new information that can help generalize life-history responses of insects to temperature, which can then expand comparative demographic and climate-change research. We also discuss important remaining knowledge gaps, such as a better assessment of adult survival and diapause.

The Morphological Diversity of Dragon Lacewing Larvae (Nevrorthidae, Neuroptera) Changed More over Geological Time Scales Than Anticipated.

Nevrorthidae, the group of dragon lacewings, has often been considered a relic group. Today, dragon lacewings show a scattered distribution, with some species occurring in southern Europe, Japan, Australia, and one in China. The idea that this distribution is only a remnant of an originally larger distribution is further supported by fossils of the group preserved in ambers from the Baltic region (Eocene, ca. 35-40 MaBP) and Myanmar (Kachin amber, Cretaceous, ca. 100 MaBP). Larvae of the group are slender and elongated and live mostly in water. Yet, larvae are in fact very rare. So far, only slightly more than 30 larval specimens, counting all extant and fossil larvae, have been depicted in the literature. Here, we report numerous additional specimens, including extant larvae, but also fossil ones from Baltic and Kachin amber. Together with the already known ones, this sums up to over 100 specimens. We analysed quantitative aspects of the morphology of these larvae and compared them over time to identify changes in the diversity. Despite the enriched sample size, the data set is still unbalanced, with, for example, newly hatched larvae (several dozen specimens) only known from the Eocene. We expected little change in larval morphology over geological time, as indicated by earlier studies. However, on the contrary, we recognised morphologies present in fossils that are now extinct. This result is similar to those for other groups of lacewings which have a relic distribution today, as these have also suffered a loss in diversity in larval forms.

Giant Jurassic dragon lacewing larvae with lacustrine palaeoecology represent the oldest fossil record of larval neuropterans.

Neuropterans seem to be less specious among holometabolans, while they are in fact the relicts of a diverse group from the Mesozoic era. Their early radiation resulted in great family level morphological heterogeneity of extant neuropterans, especially of their larvae. The earliest previously reported fossil larvae of this group were from the Early Cretaceous, where they already showed high taxonomic diversity and an extremely wide range of variations in morphotypes. In this work, the earliest record of the larva of the neuropteran Palaeoneurorthus baii gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Beds of China is described. The larvae, which have large and elongated bodies, straight stylets with curved apices, an extremely elongated cervix and an extended anterior lobe of pronotum, are placed in Nevrorthidae. The elongated cervix is probably a specialized adaptation for hunting small organisms. The palaeoenvironment of these larvae indicates that larvae of Nevrorthidae have exhibited stable aquatic ecology since the Middle Jurassic, and underwent a possible shift from lakes to more lotic yet constricted modern mountain rivulet habitats over time.

An Expanded View on the Morphological Diversity of Long-Nosed Antlion Larvae Further Supports a Decline of Silky Lacewings in the Past 100 Million Years.

Lacewings have been suggested to be a relict group. This means that the group of lacewings, Neuroptera, should have been more diverse in the past, which also applies to many ingroups of Neuroptera. Psychopsidae, the group of silky lacewings, is one of the ingroups of Neuroptera which is relatively species-poor in the modern fauna. Larvae of the group Psychopsidae, long-nosed antlions, can be easily identified as such in being larvae of antlion-like lacewings without teeth in their stylets (=compound structure of mandible and maxilla), with empodia (=attachment structures on legs) and with a prominent forward-protruding labrum. Therefore, such larvae can also be recognised in the fossil record. An earlier study demonstrated a decline in the morphological diversity of long-nosed antlion larvae over the past 100 million years. Here, we report several dozen new long-nosed antlion larvae and expand the earlier quantitative study. Our results further corroborate the decline of silky lacewings. Yet, a lack of an indication of saturation indicates that we have still not approached the original diversity of long-nosed antlions in the Cretaceous.

Genomic regions underlying the species-specific mating songs of green lacewings.

Rapid species radiations provide insight into the process of speciation and diversification. The radiation of Chrysoperla carnea-group lacewings seems to be driven, at least in part, by their species-specific pre-mating vibrational duets. We associated genetic markers from across the genome with courtship song period in the offspring of a laboratory cross between Chrysoperla plorabunda and Chrysoperla adamsi, two species primarily differentiated by their mating songs. Two genomic regions were strongly associated with the song period phenotype. Large regions of chromosomes one and two were associated with song phenotype, as fewer recombination events occurred on these chromosomes relative to the other autosomes. Candidate genes were identified by functional annotation of proteins from the C. carnea reference genome. The majority of genes that are associated with vibrational courtship signals in other insects were found within QTL for lacewing song phenotype. Together these findings suggest that decreased recombination may be acting to keep together loci important to reproductive isolation between these species. Using wild-caught individuals from both species, we identified signals of genomic divergence across the genome. We identified several candidate genes both in song-associated regions and near divergence outliers including nonA, fruitless, paralytic, period, and doublesex. Together these findings bring us one step closer to identifying the genomic basis of a mating song trait critical to the maintenance of species boundaries in green lacewings.

The genome sequence of the Black Spongefly, Sisyra nigra (Retzius, 1783).

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Sisyra nigra (the Black Spongefly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Neuroptera; Sisyridae). The genome sequence is 372.6 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 7 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.34 kilobases in length.

A New Species of the Genus Rapisma (Insecta: Neuroptera: Ithonidae) from Taiwan.

A new species of the genus Rapisma, Rapisma taiwanense sp. nov., is described from Taiwan. The new species represents the first of its genus and family recorded in Taiwan. By collecting both genders, the hypothesis of sexual dimorphism is examined. This finding also expands the easternmost distribution border of Rapisma in the Oriental region. This discovery can be attributed to the development of social media which helps researchers access rare species.

Bibliometric Analyses of Web of Science Illuminate Research Advances of Neuropterida.

Neuropterida is a relatively primitive group of Holometabola. There are about 6500 extant species. Many species of this group are natural enemies and can prey on a variety of agricultural pests. In order to understand the leading research institutions, researchers and research contents, and to predict the future research directions of Neuropterida, the Web of Science core database, from January 1995 to September 2021, was searched with the theme of "Neuropterida or Neuroptera or Megaloptera or Raphidioptera or Lacewing". The results showed that the United States and China published relatively more publications than other countries. In addition, researchers from these two countries had more cooperation with other countries. China Agricultural University ranked the highest in the number of publications and centrality in this field. In addition, it was found that the early research focused on the biological control of Neuropterida by analyzing the keyword burst, whereas the more recent research focused on the phylogeny of Neuropterida. As the first representative chromosome-level genome of Neuropterida has been published, the future research of Neuropterida will focus on the genomic studies and molecular mechanisms of their morphological characters, behavior, historical evolution and so on.

The Diversity of Aphidlion-like Larvae over the Last 130 Million Years.

Aphidlions are larvae of certain lacewings (Neuroptera), and more precisely larvae of the groups Chrysopidae, green lacewings, and Hemerobiidae, brown lacewings. The name 'aphidlion' originates from their ecological function as specialised predators of aphids. Accordingly, they also play an economic role as biological pest control. Aphidlions have, mostly, elongated spindle-shaped bodies, and similarly to most lacewing larvae they are equipped with a pair of venom-injecting stylets. Fossils interpreted as aphidlions are known to be preserved in amber from the Cretaceous (130 and 100 million years ago), the Eocene (about 35 million years ago) and the Miocene (about 15 million years ago) ages. In this study, new aphidlion-like larvae are reported from Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (about 100 million years old) and Eocene Baltic amber. The shapes of head and stylets were compared between the different time slices. With the newly described fossils and specimens from the literature, a total of 361 specimens could be included in the analysis: 70 specimens from the Cretaceous, 5 from the Eocene, 3 from the Miocene, 188 extant larvae of Chrysopidae, and 95 extant larvae of Hemerobiidae. The results indicate that the diversity of head shapes remains largely unchanged over time, yet there is a certain increase in the diversity of head shapes in the larvae of Hemerobiidae. In certain other groups of Neuroptera, a distinct decrease in the diversity of head shapes in larval stages was observed.

First record of the genus Lainius Navás, 1913 (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in Mexico, with notes on the distribution of Apochrysinae

ABSTRACT The species Lainius constellatus Navás is recorded for the first time from Mexico; thus this report represents the northernmost record of the genus and species for the Americas. In addition, it provides data on the variation in color marks and a description of the hypandrium internum. A brief summary of the distribution of the species belonging to the subfamily Apochrysinae is provided, with emphasis on the three American genera, which share distribution mostly in the Pacific domain of the Brazilian subregion, ranging from the Mexican transition zone to possibly the Chacoan subregion.

PREFACE: Proceedings of the XIV International Symposium of Neuropterology

ABSTRACT The XIV International Symposium of Neuropterology (ISN) was held online, between May 23rd and 27th of 2022, with the Universidade Federal de Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil as responsible for the event. This event was carried out for and by researchers with interest in any aspects of biology, systematics, taxonomy, natural history, evolution, and applied studies on the insects of the superorder Neuropterida (Neuroptera, Megaloptera and Raphidioptera). This was the first meeting organized by a South American country, and the first one held online. A total of 141 participants from 24 countries attended the meeting, which was considered the largest number of registered participants among all the versions of the ISN and resulted in 10 keynote lectures (including the Opening Lecture), 21 oral presentations, and 17 poster presentations. The papers in this volume are representative of the lectures, oral presentations, and posters presented at the meeting. We dedicate these proceedings to the memory of the Professor and entomologist Dr. César Carvalho, who was directly responsible for bringing this meeting to Brazil, but unfortunately passed away in September 2018.

Larval Morphology of Pit-building Antlions of the Tribe Myrmeleontini (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae) from Taiwan.

The larvae of nine species of the pit-building tribe Myrmeleontini from Taiwan are described, belonging to the genera Baliga Navás and Myrmeleon Linnaeus. The nine species can be distinguished from each other by the body markings, mandible chaetotaxy and arrangement of the abdominal digging setae. Additionally, this study is also the first to describe the larvae of M. bimaculatus Yang and the first to report this species in Taiwan. A key to the larvae of nine examined species from Taiwan is provided.

Changes in the Morphological Diversity of Larvae of Lance Lacewings, Mantis Lacewings and Their Closer Relatives over 100 Million Years.

Neuroptera, the group of lacewings, comprises only about 6000 species in the modern fauna, but is generally assumed to have been more diverse and important in the past. A major factor of the modern-day ecological diversity of the group, and supposedly in the past as well, is represented by the highly specialised larval forms of lacewings. Quantitative analyses of the morphology of larvae revealed a loss of morphological diversity in several lineages. Here we explored the diversity of the larvae of mantis lacewings (Mantispidae), lance lacewings (Osmylidae), beaded lacewings (Berothidae and Rhachiberothidae, the latter potentially an ingroup of Berothidae), and pleasing lacewings (Dilaridae), as well as fossil larvae, preserved in amber, resembling these. We used shape analysis of the head capsule and stylets (pair of conjoined jaws) as a basis due to the high availability of this body region in extant and fossil specimens and the ecological importance of this region. The analysis revealed a rather constant morphological diversity in Berothidae. Mantispidae appears to have lost certain forms of larvae, but has seen a drastic increase of larval diversity after the Cretaceous; this is in contrast to a significant decrease in diversity in adult forms.

The rare antlion genus emThaumatoleon/em Esben-Petersen, 1921 (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Nemoleontinae) newly recorded from mainland China, with first male description.

Thaumatoleon Esben-Petersen, 1921 is a monotypic antlion genus represented by T. splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921 from the Oriental region. Previously, this genus was documented by only three female specimens. Here we report this genus from mainland China for the first time based on a male and two female specimens newly collected in Yunnan Province. A detailed re-description and distribution map of the genus are provided. A brief discussion on the relationships of Thaumatoleon within Nemoleontinae is also provided.

Two new species of the green lacewing subgenus Ankylopteryx Brauer, 1864 (s. str.) (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae) from China.

Two new species of the green lacewing subgenus Ankylopteryx Brauer are described from southern Yunnan, China, namely Ankylopteryx (A.) diffluens sp. nov. and Ankylopteryx (A.) rubrocincta sp. nov.. An updated key to the species of this subgenus is provided.

The green lacewing genus Anachrysa Hölzel, 1973 stat. nov. (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) from China, with description of two new species.

A taxonomic study of the green lacewing genus Anachrysa Hölzel, 1973 from China is presented. Five species of Anachrysa are recorded from China. Two new species, Anachrysa lifashengi sp. nov. and Anachrysa luna sp. nov., which are described in this study, and three new combinations, i.e. Anachrysa holzeli (Wang Yang, 1992) comb. nov., Anachrysa xiangana (Wang Yang, 1992) comb. nov. and Anachrysa trigonia (Yang Wang, 2005) comb. nov. are proposed. A key to species of Anachrysa from China is also provided.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Hemerobius japonicus (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Hemerobius japonicus Nakahara, 1915 was sequenced in this study. The complete mitochondrial genome is a typical double-stranded circular molecule of 18,585 bp (GenBank accession number: MN852445), containing 37 typical animal mitochondrial gene and an A + T-rich region. The gene order is identical to that of the putative ancestral arrangement of insects and other lacewings. 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) possessed common triplet initiation codons ATN except ND1 possessed TTG and mostly terminated with TAN codons except for ND5 and ND4 with a single T residue adjacent to a downstream tRNA gene. All of the 22 tRNAs, ranging from 63 to 72 bp, can be folded into classic clover-leaf secondary structure except for tRNASer(AGN) , in which the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm did not form a stable stem-loop structure. The control region is 1416 bp long with an A + T content of 90.3%. In the sampled families of Neuroptera, each family showed a monophyletic cluster and Polystoechotidae + Rapismatidae, Osmylidae + the remaining families, Hemerobiidae + (Chrysopidae + (Polystoechotidae + Rapismatidae)) are recovered in phylogenetic analyses with high supports.

New beaded lacewings (Insecta: Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Indochina.

The family Berothidae (beaded lacewings) is poorly known from the Indochina Peninsula. Previously, three genera, Berotha Walker, 1860, Isoscelipteron Costa, 1863, and Lekrugeria Navás, 1929, and four species were recorded from Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Here, we record the genus Asadeteva U. Aspöck H. Aspöck, 1981, in Indochina for the first time and provide a description of a new species, namely Asadeteva acutata sp. nov., from Laos and Thailand. We also describe a new species of the genus Berotha Walker, 1860, namely Berotha incurvata sp. nov. from Laos and provide the first description of the male of Lekrugeria nepalica U. Aspöck H. Aspöck, 1986, based on material from northern Myanmar.

Taxonomic notes on the antlion genus Distoleon Banks (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Pakistan.

The species of the antlion genus Distoleon Banks, 1910 (Myrmeleontidae, Myrmeleontinae, Nemoleontini) from Pakistan are revised. Three species, Distoleon sambalpurensis Ghosh, 1984, Distoleon tappa (Walker, 1853), and Distoleon verendus (Walker, 1853), all known from northern Pakistan, are re-described. Myrmeleon vesanus Walker, 1853 syn. nov. is assigned as a junior synonym of Distoleon verendus (Walker, 1853). The female of Distoleon tappa is described for the first time. Discussions about the geographical distribution of all these species are provided in detail. A key to known species of Distoleon from Pakistan is provided.