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File:
<neuropt.htm> [For educational
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NEUROPTERA [Latest Classification] Please refer also
to the following website for further details: Photos-1, Photos-2 <Citations> Families in this
order are predominantly predaceous, both as larvae and adults. Economically the Chrysopidae and
Hemerobiidae are of great importance due to their attack on aphids, scale
insects, etc. An early review of the
food sources of the larvae of Neuroptera was presented by Killington
(1936). The prey of adults is the
same as that of larvae except in families Osmylidae and Sisyridae. The larvae occupy a broad habitat, some
such as Ascalaphidae, Nymphidae, Nemopteridae and Mymeleontidae being found
only in dust or sand; others such as Hemerobiidae, Chrysopidae, Psychopsidae
and Coniopterygidae are arboreal, and families Sisyridae, Osmylidae and
Sialidae are aquatic or semiaquatic.
Withycombe (1923, 1924b) and Rabaud (1927) each presented early
summaries of the characters and behavior of members of this order. Killington (1936, 1937) gave extensive
information of the immature stages and biology of different families. In all Neuroptera the eggs are oval in shape, sometimes
flattened, and have a distinct micropylar structure. In Mantispidae, most Chrysopidae and some
Berothidae they are borne at the end of slender stalks. They use a saw-like egg breaker to
facilitate hatching, the form and function of which was described by Smith
(1922a). The structure is thought to
be a part of the amnion, which surrounds the embryo, lying over the head on
the median line, and is discarded when the body is only partially out of its
shell. Some researchers term this the
"prelarval" skin (Clausen 1940/62). Most Neuroptera larvae are carabiform and with few exceptions
have very large, curved mandibles, by means of which the body of the prey is
pierced and the fluids removed. There
are usually three larval instars. A
membrane only in the 1st instar closes the mouth. The cocoons are spun from a silken thread, which emanates from
the tip of the abdomen. Pupation
without a cocoon is found in the Raphidiidae and in occasional individuals of
some Chrysopidae. The pupa lies
immobile in the cocoon until just before the end of its development at which
time it becomes active and exits the cocoon.
Transformation to the adult is outside of the cocoon. The manner in which pupae exit cocoons
varies. Some researchers report that
the mandibles of the pupa are used in cutting away the circular cap, but
others found that this cap is build into the cocoon by the larva and that it
is either pushed off or dissolved away by the active pupa. In Chrysopidae it has been found that the
pupa is able to inflate its body very much, which aids in removing the cap by
pressure (Clausen 1940/62). The larvae do not pass excrement, and the meconium is cast by the
adult rather than by the prepupa or pupa.
The peritrophic membrane in the form of a dark pellet envelops
it. Clausen (1940) stated that the
failure to void excrement during the larval period is a consequence of the
type of food consumed. All predaceous
species suck out the body fluids of the host, and such food material contains
a minimum of solids that cannot be utilized (Clausen 1940/62). Families
References: Please refer to
<biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references may be found at: MELVYL
Library] A. G. Ponomarenko & D. E. Shcherbakov (2004). "New lacewings (Neuroptera) from the
terminal Permian and basal Triassic of Siberia" (PDF). Paleontological
Journal 38 (S2): S197–S203. Engel, M. S. 2005. "A remarkable kalligrammatid
lacewing from the Upper Jurassic of Kazakhstan (Neuroptera:
Kalligrammatidae)". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science
108 (1): 59–62. Grimaldi D.,
& Michael S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5. Hoell, H.V., Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed.. Oxford University Press.
pp. 447–450. |