NEURO NEWS

The Newsletter of the British Isles Neuroptera Recording Scheme

Number 22 Summer 1998

WELCOME

This is going to have to be a very short newsletter this time. This is simply because there have been rather too few contributions to bulk it out and I simply do not have the time during June to write a great deal.

However, first of all we extend a welcome to three new readers …

Dr David Manning, 27 Glebe Rise, Sharnbrook, Bedford, MK44 1JB

Dr Alexi Popov, National Museum of Natural History, Blvd Tzar Osvoboditel 1, BG-1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

Dr Andreas M. Yasseri, Zoologisches Institut und Zoologisches Museum, Universität Hamburg, Martin Luther King Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.

 

RESULTS OF SUFFOLK ANT-LION SURVEY NOW AVAILABLE

Readers of Neuro News 20, issued last summer, will be aware that I have been studying the colony of Euroleon nostras on the Suffolk Sandlings area of eastern England. This project was funded jointly by English Nature, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and myself. My report on this work was presented to English Nature in February this year and is available for reference in their library at Peterborough; its full title is Investigations into the distribution, status and ecology of the ant-lion Euroleon nostras (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785) (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) in England during 1997. If you would like to have your own copy I will be happy to e-mail the text to you free of charge; send me your request to my e-mail address at the foot of this newsletter. Please note, however, that there are 11 maps in the bound report and these are not available on disk and so can not be e-mailed. In order to obtain the maps, which I will supply as black & white photocopies, you will need to send me £5 to cover the costs of copying and postage (sorry - I am not a charity!). If you do not have e-mail and want a copy of the report as printed paper I can print you a copy, unbound, for £10 (includes the maps and UK postage).

The research is continuing into 1998. With luck I will find time to produce a summary of the results of the project for the next newsletter.

AIDGAP KEY TO BRITISH LACEWINGS

The new key is still available from the Field Studies Council, Preston Montford, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 1HW, UK. The price is £6.50 inclusive of postage. I get a small commission on sales - so do buy it!!!

THE 1998 FIELD SEASON - RAIN AND YET MORE RAIN

Surely this has to be one of the worst years on record for bad weather? Apart from a brief, scorching hot few days in February - itself very strange - I seem to have had nothing but rainy days and cold nights from March to June. Even when the sun did come out in June it was only on alternate days, those in between giving rain again, and with a few exceptions the nights have stayed cold. Perhaps it is sunny in Scotland? It certainly isn’t in Hertfordshire. I have got soaked so many times I have lost count. I am left wondering what effect, if any, the unusual weather will have on lacewings. I am sure that nobody needs reminding to send in their records to me on the new RA68 recording cards - available free from Henry Arnold at Monks Wood (address on page 4). Why not take advantage of the weather, and of the lack of anything sensible on the television whilst teams of people are either kicking their balls around some French field or whacking them across a lawn on south London, and complete all those record cards for 1997 that you never got round to over Xmas?

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, H., & Aspöck, U.1997. Studies on new and poorly-known Rhachiberothidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from subsaharan Africa. Annales Naturhistorisches Museum Wien 99(B): 1 - 20.

Three new species and one new genus are described.

Aspöck, H., Aspöck, U. & Rausch, H. 1996. Weitere Untersuchungen über die Raphidiiden von Kirgisistan: Beischreibung von sechs neuen Spezies (Insecta: Neuropteroidea: Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae). Entomologische Nachrichten und Berichte 40: 193 - 215.

In June and July 1996 a second expedition devoted to the Raphidiopteran fauna of Kyrghyzstan was carried out. Six species of Mongoloraphidia are described and figured - M. talassicola n. sp., M. nomadobia n. sp., M. karabaevi n. sp., M. botanophila n. sp., M. manasiana n. sp. and M. tienshanica n. sp..

Aspöck, H., Aspöck, U. & Rausch, H. 1997. Erstnachweis der Ordnung Raphidioptera in Turkmenistan und weitere neue Raphidiiden-Spezies aus Kirgisistan (Insecta: Neuropteroidea: Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae). Entomologische Nachrichten und Berichte 41: 77 - 96.

The first record of the Order Raphidioptera in Turkmenistan and further new species of Raphidiidae from Kyrghyzstan. Four new species of Mongoloraphidia are described and figured (M. kughitanga n. sp., M. rhodophila n. sp., M. alaica n.sp. and M. nurgiza n. sp.. The formerly incomplete description of M. kirgisica Aspöck, Aspöck & Rausch, 1983 - known until now from only a single male - is completed for both sexes.

Greve, L., & Kobro, S. 1998. Preliminary data on abundance of phototactic Neuroptera and Raphidioptera in SE Norway as indicated by light-trap catches. Acta Zoologica Fennica 209: 119 - 120.

A light trap operated from June to October in the years 1988 to 1996 in south-east Norway caught 1440 Neuroptera of 32 species and 2 species of Raphidioptera. Only three species - Chrysoperla carnea sensu lato, Chrysopa pallens and Wesmaelius nervosus were present in high abundance.

McEwen, P., Senior, L., Shuja, A & James, C. 1998. Chrysoperla carnea: a powerful tool for the biological control of insect pests. Antenna 22: 14 - 16.

C. carnea has great potential as a biological control agent as it is widely and commercially available, has a highly voracious appetite and feeds on a wide variety of insect pests. Problems occur however because of the obligate post-emergence migration which means that pest control can not be exerted in the long term. More work is required, especially to determine any differences in the behaviour of the sibling species.

Penny, N.D., Adams, P.A. & Stange, L.A. 1997. Species catalog of the Neuroptera, Megaloptera and Raphidioptera of America north of Mexico. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 50: 39 - 114.

A somewhat self-explanatory title. The 399 species of Neuropterida (Neuroptera + Megaloptera + Raphidioptera) that are known to occur in America north of Mexico are listed and full synonymies are given. Geographical distributions are listed by State and Province. Complete bibliographic references are given for all names and nomenclatural acts. Included are two new junior homonyms, seven new taxonomic combinations, two changes of rank, fourteen new synonymies, three lectotype designations and one new name. Essential reference for anyone interested in the Neuropterida on that side of The Pond.

Popov, A. 1997. Neuroptera. In Sakalian, V (ed) Endemic and relict insects in the Pirin National Park, Bulgaria. pp. 43-44. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers.

No endemic species are found in the Pirin Mountains, though the glacial relict Wesmaelius malladai was found on Pinus heldreichii.

Szentkirályi, F. 1997. Seasonal flight patterns of some common brown lacewing species (Neuroptera, Hemerobiidae) in Hungarian agricultural regions. Biologia, Bratislava 52: 291 - 302.

Long term monitoring (1976 - 1992) of brown lacewing phenology was carried out using the light trap network in agricultural areas of Hungary. The characteristics of seasonal flight activity patterns (based on standard weeks) are described for the twelve most dominant species. In English.

Sziráki, G. 1997. Data to the coniopterygid fauna of Yemen, with description of twelve new species (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae). Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 43(3): 271 - 294.

Collecting in Yemen by A. Van Harten yielded over 400 coniopterygids of 22 species. Twelve of these are described as new and Coniopteryx ketiae Monserrat is reported for the first time from the Arabian Peninsula.

Sziráki, G. 1998. Female internal genitalia of some Neuroptera of phylogenetic interest. Acta Zoologica Fennica 209: 243 - 247.

The female genitalia of genera Coniocompsa, Heteroconis, Rapisma, Drepanicus and Nemoptera are described and an overview of the female genitalia of all Neuropteran families is given.

Sziráki, G. 1998. Zoogeographic relations of South Asian coniopterygids (Neuroptera, Coniopterygidae). Acta Zoologica Fennica 209: 249 - 254.

The relationships between groupings of the 75 species of coniopterygid recorded from Yemen, India, adjacent territories south of the high regions of the Himalaya and continental south-east Asia are discussed. The faunal divisions encountered reflect earlier reported botanical divisions.

Tröger, E. J. 1997. Netzflügler (Neuropteroidea) in Vogelnestern. Mitt. bad. Landesver. Naturkunde & Naturschutz 16: 581 - 586.

Neuropteroidea data in the area of Frieberg, Germany are presented. Hemerobius gilvus from a blackbird’s nest was a first record for Germany; it has since been found at other locations in the Upper Rhine Valley.

Yasseri, A. M., Derboben, K. & Parzefall, J. 1997. Habitatnutzung und Temperaturpräferenz sympatrischer Ameisenlöwenarten. Galathea. Berichte des Kreises Nürnberger Entomologen eV. 3: Supplement: 14 - 21.

The larval habits of the three sympatric species Euroleon nostras, Myrmeleon formicarius and Myrmeleon bore were studied in the field. In German.

Yasseri, A. M. & Güsten, R. 1997. Ameisenlöwen in und um Schloß Schwanberg. Galathea. Berichte des Kreises Nürnberger Entomologen eV. 3: Supplement: 52 - 53.

Ant lions in and around Schwanberg Castle. In German.

Yasseri, A. M., & Parzefall, J. 1997. Methoden der Aufzucht und Haltung von Ameisenjungfern. Galathea. Berichte des Kreises Nürnberger Entomologen eV. 3: Supplement: 23-37.

Methods for raising ant-lion larvae and keeping adults are discussed. In German.

Yasseri, A. M., Parzefall, J. & Francke, W. 1997. Neue Aspekte der chemischen Kommunikation bei Ameisenjungfern (Myrmeleontidae). Mitteilungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für allgemeine und angewandte Entomologie 11: 899 - 904.

New aspects of chemical communication in ant lions (Myrmeleontidae). The hypothesis that male Euroleon nostras use pheromones to attract females was tested. A previously undiscovered additional gland exit between meta- and meso-thorax was found. In German.

EDITORIAL ADDRESSES:

Neuro News is published by the BRITISH ISLES NEUROPTERA RECORDING SCHEME from the Biological Records Centre, ITE Monks Wood, 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 Colinwplant@compuserve.com (the former, numeric, e-mail address at 101621.1651@compuserve.com still works too).

Neuro News may now also be read by those interested and with access to a computer on the internet at address http://entowww.tamu.edu/research/neuropterida/neuroweb.html