NEURO NEWS

The Newsletter of the British Isles Neuroptera Recording Scheme

Number 19 Winter 1996

WELCOME

A bit of a lean issue, this one. The reason is simply that very few contributions have been sent in to me. I am sure it is simply because you have all been far too busy with field work to write anything! Still ... winter is upon us so you will all have lots of time to get writing. And if there are any more major contributions to make, I am happy to consider them for publication in the journal Entomologist's Record.

The main news this issue is the discovery of ant lions breeding in Suffolk. Good news indeed, and nice to be proved right at last. Psectra diptera put in an appearance at Plumpton, in East Sussex on 3rd September and is new for the county. This is probably one of the most overlooked lacewings in Britain. Very little else seems to have happened since the summer. In spite of the weather it has been a very poor season for lacewings and very few recording cards have been sent in so far. Progress with the identification keys is slow. By now, everyone should have sent back their comments on the test version to me or direct to the Field Studies Council. If you have a test key and have not yet commented on the bits you didn't like (or the bits that you did like) NOW is the time to send them in. All comments are welcomed, no matter how minor they may seem to you. Putting all the comments together gives me a much better idea of how the keys can be improved.

RECORDING CARDS

Now is the time to start filling in cards with all of your 1996 records (and earlier ones if you have not already done so). If you need a fresh supply these can be got hold of for free from the Biological Records Centre at the address at the foot of the last page of this newsletter. Please send completed cards to me if possible as cards sent to BRC are merely forwarded to me for attention! I want all records on cards please ­ even repeats of species from sites where they are already recorded. Use a separate card for each visit ­ i.e., only one date per card ­ and please do fill in a card for every site visit when lacewings were recorded. The information gathered on dates in this manner will be very valuable once it is entered onto the computer.

NEW READERS

One new reader has joined us during the summer. A warm welcome to Laurence Clemons, 14 St John's Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4NE.

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

The following changes should be made to your mailing list:

David Emley has moved to 23 Leacroft, Aston Lodge Park, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8GF

Christoph Saure has moved to Pflugerstrase 72, D­12047, Berlin, Germany.

Adrian Amsden is no longer at Cardiff Museum ­ where are you now Adrian?

CUMBRIAN LACEWING ATLAS ­ AN APOLOGY

In the last newsletter I printed a somewhat damning review of the Cumbrian Lacewing Atlas produced by the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle. This I should not have done. Steve Hewitt sent the book to me for personal reference but it somehow found its way onto my pile of books for review in various entomological journals and got done one weekend along with the rest. The work is not a proper publication but is in fact an internal museum working document which Steve was kind enough to send to me for reference. I therefore apologise to Steve and to the Museum authorities for any embarrassment caused by my comments on the work.

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 non­English language paper this fact is stated. Where it is not, I usually attempt a brief translation of the summary given.

Cottle, R.; Edwards, M.; Roberts, S. 1996. Euroleon nostras (Fourcroy, 1785) (Neur.: Myrmeleontidae) confirmed as breeding in Britain. Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation 108: 299-300, plus colour plates

The contents of this paper are discussed elsewhere in this newsletter.

Holzel, H. 1995. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Neuropteren der Arabischen Halbinsel. 1. Chrysopidae und Hemerobiidae von Oman und Yemen. Entomofauna 16: 437 ­ 452.

Six species of the Hemerobiidae and 31 Chrysopidae have so far been recorded from the Arabian Peninsula. This paper is the first to deal with these families in the southern peninsula countries of Oman and Yemen. Two new species, Dichochrysa arabica n. sp. and Ankylopteryx vanharteni n. sp. are introduced and a number of new combinations are proposed.

Holzel, H. 1996. Neue Chrysopidae-Spezies aus Afrika 1. Apochrysa wagneri n. sp. (Neuroptera:

Planipennia). Entomol. Z. 106(3): 117 ­ 120.

The new species Apochrysa wagneri is described from Rwanda. The taxonomic

positions of the genera Apochrysa and Anapochrysa are discussed.

Mansell, M. W. 1996. The antlions of southern Africa (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae): genus Palparellus Navas, excluding extralimital species. African Entomology 4(2): 239 ­ 267.

Pantaleoni, R. A. 1995 Neuroptteri (Insecta Neuropteroidea) della pianura padana: I parchi urbani e rurali come zone di "rifugio faunistico". Quad. Staz. Ecol. Civ. Mus. St. nat. Ferrara. 9: 393­397.

Neuroptera in the Po river basin: urban and rural parks as "faunistic refuge" areas. In

Italian.

Pantaleoni, R. A.; Lo Valvo, F. 1995. Neuroptera. In: Massa, B (Ed.) - Arthropoda di Lampedusa, Linosa e Pantelleria (Canale di Sicilia, Mar Mediterraneo). Naturalists Siciliano. 19 (supplement): 351­356.

Paulian, M., Canard, M., Thierry, D. & Cloupeau, R. 1996. Les Chrysoperla Steinmann de Roumanie (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (new series). 32: 285 ­ 290.

699 Chrysoperla specimens are examined from 17 locations in Romania. These proved

to comprise C. carnea, C. lucasina, C. kolthoffi and C. renoni. The dominant species was C. kolthoffi, at 61% of the total. A table of non­genitalic characters of the seven species of Chrysoperla occurring in Europe is given. In French.

Plant, C. W.; Schembri, S. 1996. A review of the Neuropteroidea of the central mediterranean Islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino (the Maltese Islands). Entomofauna 17(2): 25 ­ 36.

All known records of Neuropteroidea from the islands are presented and discussed.

Saure, C. 1996. Die Kamelhalsfliegen (Raphidioptera) der Mark. Beitrig zur Tierwelt von Brandenburg und Berlin. Entomologische Nachrichten und Berichte 40: 75 ­ 82.

The snake flies of Berlin and Mark Brandenburg. Nine species of snake fly were recorded in the area of which six are either endangered or potentially endangered because of biogeographical restrictions. In German, with very short summaries in French and English.

Shaw, M. R. 1996. Chrysopophthorus hungaricus (Zilahi-Kiss) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Euphorinae) new to Britain, a parasitoid of adult Chrysopidae (Neuroptera. Entomologist's Gazette. 47: 185­187.

This braconid wasp was found in samples obtained by "fogging" an oak tree in

Richmond Park, London and may well be established in Britain. It is unusual in that it parasitises adult green lacewings ­ not their early stages ­ living in the abdomen. It is so far recorded from Chrysoperla carnea and various species of Mallada. Adult lacewings with swollen, perhaps lop­sided, abdomens should be kept alive and the parasite reared through to obtain British host records.

Sziraki, G.; Popov, A. 1996. Neuropteroidea of the Bukk National Park. In. Fauna of the Bukk National Park, pp 389 ­ 395.

A total of 61 species is recorded from this mountainous region of northern Hungary,

representing 47% of the Hungarian Neuropteroidean fauna.

ANTLIONS IN SUFFOLK

Readers of the East Anglian Daily Times Newspaper will be one step ahead of the rest of us. On 15th August the paper proudly announced that "an expert" had discovered ant lion pits at the Walberswick RSPB nature reserve on the Suffolk coast (for the benefit of our overseas readers, the letters RSPB stand for Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). The expert in question was Mike Edwards who, during the course of general entomological work, discovered literally thousands of pits in the sand on the coastal dunes, amongst the pine trees and even at the side of the lane leading down to the car park. Pits were made in all types of sand where it was exposed to the sun, but the majority were associated with small cliffs or with the root plates of trees on banks.

The good news was conveyed to me over the telephone and within a couple of hours I was standing amongst one of the largest colonies of Euroleon nostras that I have ever encountered anywhere in Europe. There really were thousands of larval pits. Larvae were duly extracted for examination and we were surprised to find them in all stages from first to third instar. The next day Mike and others were lucky enough to watch adults emerging and take photographs and video film of the event. It seems that they emerge at around 5.30 in the afternoon and hang themselves up to dry before taking to flight at dusk. The discovery has been written up in Entomologist's Record (see Cottle, Edwards& Roberts in the publications list in this newsletter).

The question inevitably arises of how on earth have we missed them for so long? Certainly the size of the colony is likely to be a consequence of two or three hot summers but the insects must surely have been resident for a long time and simply overlooked. A possible reason may lie in the observation that that the adults seem to emerge at tea­time and fly as it gets dark. Can it simply be that the insects appear after most entomologists have gone home?

I feel another prediction coming on! Having now been finally proved right about ant lions being "British" I predict that they are likely to be present elsewhere on the British coastline. Any part of southern Britain that has sand should be thoroughly checked in late July or early August, 1997. I still think that Dorset is as likely a place as any. Good hunting, everyone.

CALL FOR SPECIMENS

Dr. Michael F. Whiting, Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA.

John Oswald (TAMU) and Michael Whiting (Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History) are commencing a project on a morphological + molecular phylogeny for the Berothidae/ Mantispidae/Rhachiberothinae(­idae). John will be dealing with the morphological aspects of this project and Mike will be doing the DNA sequence generation and molecular analyses. In addition to addressing the long­standing question as to the affinity of these taxa, we hope this study will provide the baseline data for future collaborative efforts which will eventually culminate in a phylogeny for all the families of Neuroptera.

For the DNA sequence generation, we are looking for specimens which are preserved in 70­100% ETOH, which are no more than 20 years old, or for pinned specimens that are no more than ten years old. Those of you who may have access to fresh material can best preserve the DNA by placing the specimens in 95% ETOH (for insects, this yields high quality DNA comparable to that obtained from fresh or frozen tissue sources). For the DNA sequence work, we only need thoracic muscle tissue. This means that wings, legs, genitalia, and heads can be retained as vouchers. Typically a series of 4­6 specimens is required for the DNA work, though if the tissue is well preserved a single specimen often yields ample DNA for sequencing. John will also use specimens from these series for his character scoring [I suspect John might want rather more than left over thorax shells? I suggest we supply whole insects. ­ Ed.].

Specimens can be sent to the address above. Any questions, hints, or suggestions can be sent via e­mail to either John (wpodom1.entomology.joswald@wpo­smtp­gate.tamu.edu) or Mike (whiting@amnh.org).

We are looking for exemplars for the following taxa:

OUTGROUPS:

Dilaridae

Nallachius sp. [North America and/or Old World sp.]

Osmylidae

INGROUP

Berothidae

Cyrenoberothinae

Cyrenoberotha penai MacLeod & Adams [Chile]

Nosybinae

Nosybus nobilis Navas [Africa] (Or any other Nosybus sp.)

Berothinae

Berotha fulva (Costa) [Europe] (Or some other Berothine).

Lomamyia flavicornis (Walker) [North America]

Nyrminae

Nyrma kervillea Navas [Turkey] (The only species in this

subfamily. It may be too ambitious to think that we can get this one!)

Rhachiberothinae[­idae]

Rhachiberotha sp. [Africa]

Mucroberotha sp. [Africa]

Mantispidae

Symphrasinae

Plega banksi Rehn [North America]

Trichoscelia varia (Walker) [Central and South America]

Drepanicinae

Gerstaeckerella gigantea Enderlein [South America]

Theristria sp. [Australia] (any of the ca. 23 spp)

Calomantispinae

Nolima pinal Rehn [North America]

Calomantispa sp. [Australia] (any of the 3 spp)

Mantispinae

Mantispa styriaca (Poda)[Europe]

Climaciella brunnea (Say) [North America]

Thanks to all of you who can lend us a hand in this project.

OBITUARY

ANDREW RODGER WATERSTON, O.B.E., former Keeper of Natural History at the Royal Scottish Museum.

Born: 30 March 1912, Ollaberry, Shetland. Died: 12 July 1996, Edinburgh, aged 84.

Rodger Waterston was the younger son of James Waterston, who became a distinguished entomologist with the Imperial Bureau of Entomology and later the British Museum (Natural History). This background and the consequent regular contact with naturalists, undoubtedly laid the foundations to Rodgers distinguished career as an Entomologist. He read Zoology at Edinburgh University, receiving a B.Sc., with first class Honours in 1934. In 1935 he participated in the classic Edinburgh University Biological Society scientific expeditionary survey of the fauna and flora of Barra, thus beginning a lifelong association with the Outer Hebrides. In the same year he joined the Department of Natural History at the Royal Scottish Museum as Assistant Keeper to work on the invertebrate collections. During some of the war years (from autumn 1943) he served in the Colonial Offices Middle East Supply Centre, Cairo as the Locust Officer in the Middle East Anti­Locust Unit and took charge of the Palestine Anti­Locust Unit in Saudi Arabia. This work continued after the war and in 1947 he was appointed Chief Locust Officer for the Middle East, Eritraea and Ethiopia. From this time until he returned to Scotland in 1952, he served as Entomological Advisor to the British Middle East Office and Attache for Scientific Affairs at the British Embassies in Cairo & later in Beirut. His success in the Middle East led to the award of an O.B.E. in 1952.

In 1952 he returned to the Natural History at the Royal Scottish Museum and became Keeper of that Department in 1958, until retiring in 1973. He stayed on at the Museum as Keeper Emeritus in a research capacity until 1977. Rodger developed the collections and published widely on most entomological taxa. It was in this period and in response to the major bequest of the Kenneth J. Morton collection, that he redirected his activities from a pre­war interest in Hymenoptera and Hemiptera and his war­time interest in Locusts. He began to show a stronger interest in Odonata and Neuroptera, providing the much needed curation for the Morton collection. Furthermore he developed the Odonata and Neuroptera collections to a world­class level through the many contacts he made over the years. He only produced one paper specifically concerning Neuroptera: Bo Tjeder & A. Rodger Waterston. 1977. Ptyngidricerus venustus n.sp. from Oman and Iran (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae) Entomologica scandinavica 8: 87­92. He wrote three major papers on the Odonata of various parts of Arabia and there is evidence among his effects, that he may have been working towards much the same sort of papers in Neuroptera, with a preference toward Myrmeleontidae. Although Rodger did not produce more papers in Neuropterology, he certainly had an influence on the science through the vast network of correspondence and contacts he maintained. Rodger will be sadly missed as a member of our community.

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 01279­507697 (UK) or 00­44­1279­507697 (from overseas). E­mail 101621.1651@compuserve.com

Contributions to this newsletter may be sent via e­mail if desired.