NEURO NEWS

The Newsletter of the British Isles Neuroptera Recording Scheme

Number 25 Winter 1999/2000

Articles for this newsletter are warmly welcomed. Ideally, contributions should be sent by e-mail or else as a file readable by Word for Windows on a disk in a PC compatible format. Typed or hand-written contributions are acceptable if you do not have a word processor.

EDITORIAL ADDRESSES:

Neuro News is published by the BRITISH ISLES NEUROPTERIDA 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.

Specimens for identification or 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 ++-44-1279-507697 (from overseas). E-mail

Colinwplant@compuserve.com

Neuro News may now also be read on the internet at address

http://entowww.tamu.edu/research/neuropterida/neuroweb.html

Back numbers of Neuro News may be obtained from Biological Records Centre, ITE Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, PE17 2LS, England.

Details of British Isles recording schemes for other invertebrate groups may be obtained from Dr Henry Arnold at the Monks Wood address.

WELCOME

This is one of the shortest newsletters we have had for a while. The reason is partly because I have been very busy, and partly because I have not received anything to include from you! Still, at least the chaps at Monks Wood who pay for the production and mailing will be happy!

NEWS IN BRIEF

Osmylus fulvicephalus has again turned up in Essex, at Chignall St James, on 23rd July 1999 when new reader Geoffrey Wilkinson watched two in flight on River Can. A few days later on a return trip he saw the insect again and managed to obtain a voucher specimen for me to confirm the identification. This is only the second station for this large and spectacular lacewing in Essex; it is more normally associated with fast flowing streams in the western half of Britain where the amphibious larvae live in luxurious moss growth within the splash zone and are able to withstand being completely submerged from time to time.

Neuropterists Newsletter number 9 was published in August. Also a very short issue - it must be a bad year for people writing about lacewings! Anyone who wishes to obtain a copy can write to the editor, Norm Penney, at 2507 Arf Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545, U.S.A.

I am still doing battle with my computer to find an effective way of posting this newsletter on the Neuroptera web site. In spite of upgrading to Windows 98 and obtaining Word 2000 - which claims to allow me to create html documents (the type that are needed for putting on the web) - the way that it saves them is clearly not the same as desired. Neuro News 24 was posted on the web in html format but it has not retained all of its formatting and, in particular, I can't seem to save the Osmylus logo in a form that can be read as html. If anyone has any ideas please do phone me.

In the last newsletter I reported that a huge pile of recording cards had been taken by me to Monks Wood ready for the data to be entered on the computer. The plan was (and still is) for me to have a DMap version of the data on my own computer and that I would then be able to update the maps as cards come in and so produce revised maps for the newsletter. The good news is that all the data have been entered by staff at Monks Wood; the bad news is that I have simply not yet had time to compare the entered data with that on the cards to make sure there are no entry errors that need to be corrected. I am confident that I might find time for this over the winter and by the time the next newsletter appears I hope to publish some updated maps for key species in time for the main field season for most species (July and August).

Meanwhile NOW would be an excellent time to fill in and send to me your 1999 recording cards or send me unidentified specimens.

Finally, we welcome one new reader since the last issue of Neuro News, in the form of Geoffrey Wilkinson who resides at 22 Cheviot Drive, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2EU.

FUNGUS DISEASE OF COMMON LACEWING

Bernard Verdcourt, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, TW9 3AB

On 7 July 1999 I found a dead lacewing in my garden at Kimbers, Maidenhead, Berkshire, with a white patch on its thorax and head. My colleague B. M. Spooner identified this as Beauveria densa (Link) Picard, a fungus of the Order Hyphales, subphylum Deuteromycotina - common on various dead insects. The lacewing was Chrysoperla carnea agg.. It seems worth recording this.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Recently published papers relevant to the study of Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Megaloptera or Mecoptera will, if sent to me, automatically be included; older papers may be included if space permits or if they are particularly relevant.

Hölzel, H. & Ohm, P., 1999 Taxonomie und Chorologie von Chrysopa flavifrons Brauer s.l., samt Beschreibung einer neuen Art, Dichochrysa viridifrons spec. n. (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 109: 381 - 388.

The taxonomy of Dichochrysa flavifrons and some related species is discussed. New subspecies nigropunctata is described - this replaces subspecies flavifrons Brauer in the Iberian Peninsula. D. cyprina (Navás) from Cyprus is reinstalled as a valid species. D. viridifrons is described as a new species from north-west Africa.

Hölzel, H., Ohm, P. & Duelli, P. 1999 Contribution to the knowledge of the Neuroptera of Ethiopia. Entomofauna 20: 345 - 372.

Thirty-four species are listed for Ethiopa including Chrysoperla volcanicola sp. nov. which is described and the genitalia figured. Two new synonyms are established - Nothochrysa aethiopiae Lacroix syn. nov. (= Italochrysa impar (Navás)) and Chrysopa incerta Navás syn. nov. (= Chrysopa handschini Návas). The distribution in Africa of the recorded species is discussed.

Paulian, M. & Canard, M. 1999 What we can expect from green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) for plant protection in the Mediterranean zone. Proceedings of the first Regional Symposium for Applied Biological Control in Mediterranean Countries, 1998: 181 - 187.

Of the approximately 80 green lacewing species in the Mediterranean region, about twenty are part of the natural beneficial fauna in crops and the anthropic environment. These show traits that could be of future interest in pest control.

Plant, C. W. 1999 Notes on Essex specialities. 1: The Essex lacewing Nineta inpunctata Reuter, 1894 (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). Essex Naturalist (new series) 16: 71-72.

Reports to a regional audience the recording of this species at its only British Isles station and discusses the species' conservation. There is little in this summary that I did not include in Plant (1996) Entomologist's Gaz. 47: 115-120.

Saure, C. & Gruppe, M. 1999 Netzflüger, Schlamm- und kamelhalsfliegen. In: Vereinigung umweltwissen-schaftlicher Berufsverbände Deutschlands e.V (ed.)

Handbuch landschaftsökologischer Leistungen. Empfehlungen zur aufwandsbezogenen Honorare-rmittlung. Veröffentlichungen der VUBD. Band 1. - 3. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, 259 pp.; Nürnberg (VUBD-Geschäftstelle). ISSN 0945-8204

An interesting paper discussing Neuroptera as indicators in landscape ecology. In German.

Sziráki, Gy. 1998 An annotated checklist of the Ascalaphidae species known from Asia and from the Pacific Islands. Folia Entomologica Hungarica 59: 57-72.

A list of the 110 species and geographically separated subspecies is presented for Asia New Guinea and New Caledonia. Synonymy of Nousera Navás and Pseudoptynx Van der Weele is established. Due to homonymy the latter is replaced by the former. Replacement names, also due to homonymy, are given for two further genera and one species.

Sziráki, Gy. 1999 in Mahunka, S. (ed.) The Fauna of the Aggtelek National Park, 1999. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, pp. 143 - 149.

CHRYSOPERLA CARNEA - AGAIN

There can be few out there now who have not realised that our familiar Chrysoperla carnea is composed of more than one species. There are at least two and possibly three in Britain, and details were summarised in the last newsletter. Note that my key to the segregates of the carnea complex in the AIDGAP publication does not work and should not be used (it works for everything else - I hope!).

I am currently in the process of re-examining the 20 thousand plus specimens from the Rothamstead light trap network (it pays to keep voucher material!!!) to see what is what. I will report - eventually!!! Meanwhile it is worth reminding everyone that it is nigh on impossible to determine dry, pinned carnea material correctly. All Chrysoperla carnea specimens should ideally be collected into and stored in alcohol. Dry material sent to me for examination WILL be soaked in water and transferred to alcohol; it may not be possible to name all dried material.

All this confusion means that we really don't know the distribution of carnea segregates in Britain. Are all the species found in all areas of the country?

This carnea species-group is, of course, the only "one" that hibernates as an adult and so winter is a good time to collect specimens both indoors and from outdoor hibernacula such as curled leaves etc. Please remember to record the details of the hibernaculum on the data label and also, please record the colour of the insect - green - pale green - pale brown - brown - pink (as in carneous - hence the name) - or whatever. This could be of importance in separating winter examples.

I would like to see this newly collected material and I would also very much like to re-examine all C. carnea material that I have already determined prior to September 1999 and welcome this at my address. I will return material if requested but please don't put a time limit on me as there are literally thousands of specimens to look at.

Next issue

About July 2000. Please let me have all contributions by the end of May if possible. I look forward to hearing from you.