NEURO NEWS
The Newsletter of the British Isles Neuroptera Recording
Scheme
Number 18 Summer 1996
WELCOME
THE DINOSAURS ARE FINALLY EXTINCT …
Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Editorsaurus has entered
the twentieth century at last! He can now be contacted by other
non-dinosaurs at his E-mail address, which is ……. 101621.1651@compuserve.com.
Actually, its quite fun. John Oswald's newsletter contribution
below about the electronic neuropterists' directory entered these
pages without me touching a key on my word processor or without
handling a floppy disk. It came straight from John's computer,
via the telephone, into my computer and into the newsletter text
file ready for printing. I had to do absolutely nothing which
is, of course, exactly as it should be!!! So, I can now accept
unsolicited contributions via e-mail. However, I AM NOT PREPARED
TO ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS ON FLOPPY DISK from any source. At the
end of May, some kind person (hopefully not a neuropterist) gave
me a disk with a virus on it!!! That nasty little beast wiped
out my hard disk by destroying all my .sys, .exe and .dll files
when I turned on the computer after having turned it off whilst
away collecting in France. It then proceeded to corrupt the hard
disk to the extent that I had to buy a new one. The episode cost
me several hundred pounds, sixteen hours work and caused the loss
of 600 megabytes of files and data. Because I was careful to back
up all my work, the virus was backed up too!!! Unsolicited
computer disks will be unceremoniously consigned to the dustbin
without examination!
NEUROPTERA HOME PAGE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
This may be found at http://entowww.tamu.edu/research/neuropterida/neuroweb.html
for those who have internet connected computers at home or work.
ADDITIONS TO THE MAILING LIST
Welcome to new subscriber Michael Chinnery, who may be
contacted at Mousehole, Hundon, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 8EG. Michael
is well known to British readers for his excellent "field
guides" to insects, published by Collins. Also welcome to
Mark Burgess who lives at 92 Fellows Road, London, NW3
3JG, Agostino Letardi from ENEA C.R.E. Casaccia, INN-BIOAG-AMAG,
S.P. 046, Via Anguillaresse 301, 00060 S. Maria di Galeria, Roma,
Italy and Bojana Mencinger from the Department of Biology,
University of Maribor, Koroska 160, 62000 Maribor, Slovenia.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS
Dr Christoph Saure has moved to Oranienstrasse 24, D-10999,
Berlin. Dr John Oswald has also "upped sticks"
and moved to Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA. Please amend your own files
accordingly.
NEW ELECTRONIC NEUROPTERISTS' DIRECTORY
JOHN D. OSWALD, Department of Entomology; Texas A&M
University; College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA
A central problem that we all face in communicating with others
with shared interests in neuropterology is how to send and receive
messages. This is an age-old problem, most often solved by the
compilation and maintenance of personal mailing lists. While this
can be a good solution, it also has the drawback that each person
must continuously update their own list, resulting in lists of
differing "qualities" in the hands of different individuals.
With the origin and spread of new electronic communications technologies
(e.g., fax, e-mail, gopher, ftp, web pages, etc.) the problem
of maintaining up-to-date lists of the various communications
numbers and addresses associated with different individuals has
greatly increased. One possible solution to this problem is the
development of a centralised repository for this "directory
information". This kind of repository would also require
updating with the passage of time, but it would have the great
advantage of ensuring rapid distribution of updated information
to anyone/everyone in the world who had access to (or a friend
with access to) the electronic system. With current technology
it is possible to create a system containing directory information
for all of the world's neuropterists. With this objective in mind,
Peter McEwen and I have undertaken the task of implementing the
"Neuropterists' Directory" as a set of "web pages"
available for public access over the World Wide Web. In addition
to containing basic communications data like mailing addresses,
the Directory will also attempt to compile related information
such as phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, home page
URL's, and the neuropterid-related interests of the world's neuropterists.
To complement the information on individuals, we will also be
assembling a companion list of companies that provide neuropterid-related
goods and services. All of this information will be available
on-demand electronically, and will be able to be printed to paper
for additional distribution to individuals without electronic
access capabilities.
As will be immediately apparent, to make such a list as complete,
accurate and comprehensive as possible we will need the co-operation
of the world's neuropterists to compile the initial directory.
At the present time we are asking anyone who would like to be
included in this directory to fill out the form below and to return
it to Colin Plant. Colin will gather the individual data forms
and forward the data on to Peter or myself for addition to the
Directory. Not all information fields will be appropriate for
all individuals. Fill in the fields that are appropriate for you,
and mark the others "n/a" or "none" as appropriate.
Below the form is a sample copy of a completed directory entry.
Please mimic the entry formats used in this sample when you are
completing your form. We appreciate your co-operation in this
effort and look forward to being able to provide the world's neuropterists
with a accurate working directory in the near future. The debut
of the directory will be advertised over Neuroptera-L and in this
and other newsletters likely to be read by neuropterists.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Neuropterists' Directory Information Form
Name:
Title:
Mailing Address:
Phone Number(s) [include country/city/area codes]:
Fax Number(s) [include country/city/area codes]:
E-mail Address(s):
Home Page URL:
Interests:
Research Emphases:
Current Projects:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A completed Neuropterists' Directory entry is shown below. Please
imitate this format when submitting your data.
Name: Dr. John D. "John" Oswald
Title: Assistant Professor
Mailing Address: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2475, USA.
Phone Numbers: 409-862-3507 (office); 409-862-3508 (lab); 409-845-9766 (secretary, Cathy Banks). Fax Number: 409-845-6305
E-mail Address: j-oswald@tamu.edu
Home Page URL: http://entowww.tamu.edu/oswaldj.html
Interests: systematics, phylogenetics, taxonomy, biogeography, nomenclature, and evolutionary theory
Research Emphases: phylogeny and biogeography of neuropterid insects
Current Projects: (1) higher phylogeny of the Myrmeleontoidea, (2) revision of the genus Osmylops [Nymphidae],
(3) revision of the Polystoechotidae, (4) intergeneric phylogeny of the Nymphidae
Last Update: 12.iii.1996 (JDO)
COLOUR RATIOS IN HIBERNATING CHRYSOPERLA CARNEA IN SCOTLAND
E. GEOFFREY HANCOCK, Glasgow Museums, Kelvingrove,
Glasgow, G3 8AG
In November last year I noticed a number of hibernating Ch. carnea around a window frame, one of three opening lights in a conservatory in a house near Strathaven, Lanarkshire, about 20 miles south of Glasgow. I collected some to examine and kept them alive in a container, noticing no further change in their colour even after they died several weeks later. I made a mental note to check again in spring to see how many and of what colour any others might be. I did not open the other windows at the time in case the insects were crushed on closing again. Subsequently I rather forgot about this intention until I was asked to provide some data on 2-spot ladybirds for a Ph.D. student's work and sought them also in the conservatory. I then examined the Ch. carnea revealed and the results are as below.
green brown
November 16, 1995 4 5
February 23, 1996 13 15
There were one or two specimens which were 'intermediate' in some respects. The overall impression of golden brown was tempered by the wings retaining a green sheen and/or the thorax still had a yellowish central stripe and was greenish laterally. However, the overall jizz was brownish and they had certainly changed from the basic green condition so they were counted as browns. From the albeit small sample, it appears that the ratios are roughly 50/50 in this locality.
I had imagined it possible that in hibernation some at least of the green ones might turn brown. This could be easily tested by moving the two colour batches into separate locations at the start of the cold weather. This would seem to be easier than marking individual insects and is something to consider as an experiment at a suitable site. The oft repeated statement that hibernating Ch. carnea turn brown obviously does not apply here. I have often seen green lacewings in winter but had imagined that the books were either wrong or that those not already brown would become so by the end of the cold season. This was my reason for inspecting the small colony as described above.
We experienced a period of several days of temperatures
of from -20ºC to -22ºC in late December. As the conservatory
is unheated any mechanism for cold-induced colour change had plenty
of time to operate. It thus appears that these lacewings adopted
their hibernating colour, by whatever mechanism, as they went
into hibernation and subsequent events have had little or no effect.
LACEWINGS IN GRASSLAND D-VAC SAMPLES
JOHN HOLLIER, 9 The Glebe, Aynho, Banbury, Oxon,
OX17 3AZ
Whenever I write about lacewings the phrase "crepuscular
and mainly arboreal predators (Fraser, 1959)" usually appears
in the first sentence. It is normally followed by Colin's insistence
that they are really nocturnal, and something about grasslands.
Why stop now?
At the Imperial College Field Station at Silwood Park, a long
term study of old-field succession has been going on since 1977.
Plots have been taken out of arable cultivation in most years
since then, and form a mosaic of habitats ranging from ruderal
to scrub. In 1989, malaise traps were placed on some of these
plots and the results suggested that some lacewing species were
true grassland species, while others preferred scrub to older
woodlands (Hollier & Belshaw, 1992. Entomologist 111:
187-194). Although the assemblages recorded in this way showed
clear successional differences, there remains the problem that
malaise traps catch insects flying over a habitat which need not
be the same thing as those living in it. Fortunately, as part
of the long term study other insect sampling methods have been
used, most extensively the D-vac. This samples insects in the
vegetation, and is a very effective method of collecting all but
the most active, and fast flying, groups. It has the added advantage
that, unlike the malaise traps, this method will collect larvae
if they are present.
Some information is available for over 30 assemblages (ie the
insects recorded from a plot in a given year), but I will only
present data for the 18 where I identified the material. There
are three aspects to address: which species are found in grassland
plots, and do the species richness or the abundance of lacewings
show successional trends.
Species
There are only five species of lacewing which appear as adults
in the D-vac samples, although it is possible that some of the
larvae may represent others. The rank order of abundance is shown
in Table 1. Psectra diptera was represented by a single
specimen, but the other species were fairly abundant. The ratio
of Hemerobiidae and Chrysopidae was similar in larvae and adults,
which increases confidence in the representativeness of the adults
found.
Table 1. Rank abundance of lacewings in the grassland plots.
D-vac Malaise trap
1 Micromus variegatus 1 Wesmaelius subnebulosus
2 Micromus angulatus 2 Chrysoperla carnea
3.5 Chrysoperla carnea 3 Chrysopa perla
3.5 Chrysopa perla 4 Micromus angulatus
5 Psectra diptera 5 Hemerobius humulinus
The abundant species were identified as grassland or scrub dwellers
in our previous survey, although P. diptera was not recorded.
This species may have been missed in the malaise traps because
of a disinclination to fly, but the specimen was macropterous
and taken in the most recent sample considered (1993), so this
record may be evidence of colonisation. It is nice to note that
Silwood Park retains its position as the premier site for Micromus
angulatus (Plant, 1994. Provisional Atlas).
More interesting is the absence of specimens of other lacewings
found in malaise trap samples mainly from these plots; Wesmaelius
subnebulosus, Mallada prasina and Micromus paganus.
The inference has to be that these species, which are probably
associated with scrub rather than woodland proper, are more likely
to fly over open areas than the true woodland lacewings, but do
not make much use of these grassland habitats. There is also a
suggestion that there is more of a difference between the habitat
preferences of Micromus angulatus and M. paganus
than was previously thought.
Species richness
The species richness of 17 grassland plots are shown in Figure
1, along with a sample from woodland. This was an attempt to sample
in a way which allows comparison with D-vac samples (Southwood
et al, 1979. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
12: 327-348), and while not totally convincing, is at least
an illustrative. Species richness is low in all of the samples
compared with the malaise traps, but it must be remembered that
only small areas of ground are sampled by D-vacs, and only adults
were identified. There is a clear trend for species richness to
increase with age, as we would have expected from previous work.
Lacewing abundance.
One of the merits of D-vac sampling is that, because it samples a fixed area, it provides good estimates of density. The densities of the 18 assemblages, including larvae, are shown in Figure 2. There is no relationship between density of lacewings and successional age, not least because of the large variance. This reflects the patchiness of lacewings in the grasslands, which was evident in the sub-samples. In particular it should be noted that the highest and lowest densities are from the plots where the smallest area was sampled with the D-vac.
Figure 1. Number of species of adult lacewings found Figure 2. The number of lacewings per square
in D-vac samples plotted against log age. metre in D-vac samples plotted
against log age.
The results show that lacewings are important predators in grassland.
The average density of lacewings is similar to that of carabid
or staphylinid beetles in these plots, suggesting that the ecological
importance of lacewings in grassland may have been underestimated.
The conclusion of this look at lacewings in the D-vac samples
from Silwood is that some lacewings are true grassland species,
and that they can be an important part of the predatory guild.
The D-vac is shown to be a useful method of sampling for lacewings
in grasslands, but the small areas actually sampled, and patchiness
of lacewing distribution, mean that caution must be exercised
when interpreting the results, especially negative evidence. Allowing
for this, it is clear that this method will be able to provide
more information on the habitat requirements of some of the lacewings
using the field layer. It may even be enough to get the D-vac
into the collecting methods section of the AIDGAP key!
PUBLICATIONS BROUGHT TO MY NOTICE
As usual, this section of the newsletter depends on authors sending
reprints or photocopies of their papers to me for inclusion. Recently
published papers will, if sent to me, automatically be included;
older papers may be included if space permits or if they are particularly
relevant. I will include papers from all countries in all languages
if they are relevant to the study of Neuroptera, Raphidioptera,
Megaloptera or Mecoptera. Would contributors please note that
I try to publish journal titles IN FULL. If only the "World
List" abbreviation is printed on your reprints please write
out the title in full in a covering note to avoid any confusion
caused by my lack of linguistic skill.
Unless stated to the contrary, papers listed are written in English.
In cases where the title is not, I have attempted a translation.
If an English summary is given in a non-English language paper
this fact is stated. Where it is not, I usually attempt a brief
translation of the summary given.
Aspöck, U. 1995 Neue Hypothesen zum der
System der Neuropterida. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft
für allgemeine und angewandte Entomologie 10:
633-636. In German. Arguaments for a sister group relationship
between Megaloptera and Neuroptera, mainly based upon the hypothesis
of aquatic larvae deriving from a common stem species. Consequences
in relation to Neuroptera systematics are presented.
Aspöck, H., Aspöck,
U. & Rausch, H. 1995 Untersuchungen über
die Raphidiiden von Kirgisistan: Übersicht der nachgewiesenen
Atren und Beschreibung von vier neuen Spezies (Insecta: Neuropteroidea:
Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae). Entomologische Nachrichten und
Berichte 39: 165-182. During and expedition to Kyrghyzstan
in 1995, three of the four known Mongoloraphidia species
repoprted from the region were rediscovered and a further four
species of Raphidia sensu lato were new to science. The
new species are described and the wings and male & female
genitalia are figured. In German.
Devetak, D. 1995. Deleproctophylla australis (Fabricius,
1787) in Istria and Quarnero (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae). Annals
for Istrian and Mediterranean Studies. 7/95: 193-198.
The distribution of this species in the north-west Balkan peninsula
is discussed and some observations on adult morphology, habitat
characteristics and behaviour are described and figured.
Hewitt, S. 1995. Cumbrian lacewings (snake-flies, alder-flies
and scorpion-flies): A provisional Atlas, 1995. Published by Tullie
House Museum, Carlisle. Reviewed in this newsletter.
Hölzel, H. & Ohm, P. 1995. Vier neue Chrysopidae-Spezies aus der Madagassis (Neuroptera). Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreicher Entomologen 47: 112 - 118. Four new chrysopids from Madagascar are described. In German.
Iori, A., Kathirithamby, J., Letardi, A., Panatleoni, R. &
Principi M. 1995. Neuropteroidea (Megaloptera, Raphidioptera,
Planipennia), Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Strepsiptera. In Ninelli,
A., Ruffo, S & La Possta, S. Checklist delle specie della
fauna italiana. Number 62, pp 1 - 20. Edizioni Calderini,
Bologna. A checklist of the Neuropteroidea and Mecoptera of Italy.
In Italian.
Letardi, A.1994. Ascalafidi: un gruppo di insetti da rincorrere
per prati, musei e biblioteche (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae). Bollettino
dell'Associazione Romana do Entomologia 49: 45 - 54.
Ascalaphids: an insect group to look for through grasslands, museums
and libraries. Some nomenclatural problems are discussed. Ascalaphus
italicus Fabr. Sensu Dei, 1862 is a misidentification
of Libelloides longicornis (Linn.). In Italian.
McEwen, P.K. 1995. Attractiveness of yellow sticky traps to green
lacewings (Neuropt., Chrysopidae). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine
131: 163-166.
McEwen, P. K. 1996. Viability of green lacewing Chrysoperla
carnea Steph. (Neuropt., Chrysopidae) eggs stored in potential
spray meadia, and subsequent effects on survival of first instar
larvae. Journal of Applied Entomology 120: 171-173.
McEwen, P.K. & Kidd, N.A.C. 1995. The effects of different
components of an artificial food on adult green lacewing (Chrysoperla
carnea) fecundity and longevity. Entomologia Experimentalis
et Applicata 77: 343-346.
McEwen, P.K., Jervis, M.A. & Kidd, N.A.C. 1996. The influence of an artificial food supplement on larval and adult performance in the green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens). International Journal of Pest Management 42: 25-27.
Ohm, P. & Hölzel, H. 1995. Die Neuropteren der Seychellen.
Entomologisches Nachrichtenblatt. 2: 3 - 12. Sixteen
species of lacewing in four families are recorded from the Seychelles.
In German.
Plant, C. W. 1996. Nineta inpunctata (Reuter, 1894) (Neuroptera:
Chrysopidae): a green lacewing new to Britain. Entomologist's
Gazette 47: 115-120.
The following short papers are brought together in Berichte
des Kreises Nürnberger Entomologen e.V. Galathea.
2. Supplement. Nürnberg, 1995. It is beyond the bounds
of duty, I think, for me to attempt to translate all of these
into English. However, note that the paper by Peter Duelli contains
a key to the segregate taxa within the Chrysoperla carnea
complex.
Aspöck, H. & Hölzel, H. Die Neuropteroidea Europas
und des Afrikanischen und Asiatischen Mittelmeerraums: Ein vergleichender
Überlick.
Duelli, P. Neueste Entwicklungen im Chrysopa carnea - Komplex.
Hölzel, H. Was ist unter Chrysopa prasina Burmeister,
1839 zu verstehen
Ohm, P. Wer oder was ist Chrysopa abbreviata Curtis, 1834
? - Eine vorläufige Übersicht.
Ohm, P. Coniopterygidae in Bernstein-Einschlüssen Eine vorläufige
Übersicht.
Röhricht, W. Myrmeleon (Morter) bore (Tjeder, 1941)
in Deutschland.
Rupprecht, R. Anmerkungen zum Paarungsverhalten von Sisyra.
Yasseri, A.M. Zum Fortpflanzungssystem von Euroleon nostras
(Geoffroy) (Myrmeleontidae, Neuroptera, Insecta).
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON NEUROPTEROLOGY - HELSINKI
This event will take place in Helsinki, Finland on 13 - 16 July
1997. Regrettably, details were received after the last newsletter
had appeared - the closing date for preliminary registration was
the end of May 1996, so everyone is theoretically too late to
go. I have no idea how well subscribed it is, so anyone really
interested who missed the deadline might try writing to the organiser,
Martin Meinander, at Finnish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box
17, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. I am proposing
to go and have already registered. All I need to do now is find
some funding (conference fees and hotels etc. are going to cost
about 500 in total). If anyone has any serious ideas for funding,
please let me know - I have 3 papers to present but no cash!!!
BOOK REVIEW
Cumbrian Lacewings (Snake-flies, Alder-flies and Scorpion-flies): A provisional Atlas. Anonymous.
Published from the Tullie House Museum, Carlisle.
For the benefit of our non-British readers, Cumbria is that area
of England which is referred to in the tourist brochures as "The
Lake District". It comprises the old vice-counties of Cumberland,
Westmorland and part of North Lancashire and is the extreme north-west
corner of England before reaching Scotland.
The booklet comprises 96 un-numbered pages of print which, strangely,
includes the inside of both the front and rear cover. For each
species, a distribution map for the region is given showing records
by tetrad (2 km x 2 km squares). Three date bands are employed
- pre-1960, 1960 - 1989 and 1990 - 1995. Opposite the map, on
the left hand page a print-out from the RECORDER data-base of
all records is given together with a brief description of each
species and a summary of its status in Britain as a whole and
in north-east England.
I have to say that whilst it is useful indeed to have a detailed
print-out of all the available records from the Carlisle database
I am deeply disappointed with both the style and presentation
of the data which are printed straight from the RECORDER biological
recording programme (although I have no problem with the maps
which should prove of great use to ecologists, naturalists and
others active in the region). The RECORDER software uses checklists
which I was responsible for producing in 1983 and the names are
all quite out of date (all green lacewings are referred to genus
Chrysopa for example). It is a pity that they could not
be altered manually in this publication (they are indeed updated
on the accompanying maps). The description of the species is similarly
dated; much new information is available in the Provisional
Atlas and in these newsletters and some of this could have
been used. It would have been far better to replace these RECORDER
sourced descriptions with a section of free text, cut and pasted
over the print-out, concerning each insect in the Cumbrian region.
The summary of status in north-east England is another feature
of RECORDER; I can not see why it is included in a booklet on
the north-west of the country!
The booklet is totally lacking in other information. There is
no introduction, no summary of data presented, not even a sentence
telling us how many species are recorded in total. The pages are
un-numbered and the author's name is absent as is the purchase
price and the address of the Tullie House Museum, so that we are
left not knowing where to obtain a copy unless we have access
to the Museums Yearbook.
In summary, a useful working document and a good start but I look
forward to an updated version in due course. For those who are
interested the Tullie House Museum is at Castle Street, Carlisle,
Cumbria, CA3 8TP.
COPY FOR NEXT ISSUE - by end of November 1996, please.
EDITORIAL ADDRESSES:
Neuro News is published by the BRITISH ISLES NEUROPTERA
RECORDING SCHEME from the Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood
Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, PE17 2LS, England
and is
EDITED BY Colin W. Plant at 14 West Road, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 3QP, England, to whom all contributions and requests concerning the scheme should be sent. Specimens for identification of verification are positively welcomed at the editorial address provided that they are accompanied by full data. Please, always state whether or not return of the specimen(s) is required otherwise they will be retained in my collection. For larger packages, please enclose return postage stamps. Telephone/Facsimile callers on 01279-507697 (UK) or 00-44-1279-507697 (from overseas). E-mail 101621.1651@compuserve.com.