Characters for Identifying Common Families of Neuropterida and Mecoptera1 (also Strepsiptera, Siphonaptera)

STREPSIPTERA: Males: Protruding eyes. Antennae often with elongate processes. Forewing reduced to clublike structures; hind wing large and membranous with reduced venation. Females: Wingless. May have simple eyes, antennae, and mouthparts (free-living forms); or lack eyes, antennae, legs, and have a reduced head and thorax (parasitic forms).

NEUROPTERA: Costal area of front wing nearly always with numerous cross veins. Forewing and hind wing similar in size and shape, anal area of hind wing not folded at rest.

Coniopterygidae - Dusty-wings: Diagnostic characters: Minute insects (3 mm or less). Wings covered with a whitish powder and with relatively few veins. Larvae feed on small insects such as aphids and insect eggs.

Mantispidae - Mantisflies: Diagnostic characters: Front legs raptorial, arising from anterior end of prothorax. Mantispid larvae feed as "parasites" on spider eggs or in spider egg cases, while others are predators of bee and wasp larvae.

Hemerobiidae - Brown Lacewings: Diagnostic characters: Small and brownish. Forewings apparently with 2 or more radial sectors. Some costal cross veins forked. Brown lacewing larvae are predaceous, they often cover their bodies with debris or exuviae.

1 Photos UMSP, BugGuide.net, Sean McCann.

1 Chrysopidae - Green Lacewings: Diagnostic characters: All (or nearly all) costal cross veins simple. Sc and R1 in forewing not fused near wing tip. Wings usually greenish. The larvae, or aphidlions, are predators of small insects and some also carry debris. Adults have tiny tympanna on the forewing base. Eggs are laid on long stalks. Adults are common at porch lights in summer.

Sisyridae - Spongillaflies: Diagnostic characters: All (or nearly all) costal cross veins simple. Small, ~ 6-8 mm. Sc and R1 fused near wing tip. Larvae are aquatic and are "parasites" of freshwater sponge, feeding on sponge cells with their thin, elongate mandibles. They leave the water to pupate in silken cocoons. They are common, but seldom encountered due to their unusual habitat. Photo: Climacia areolaria, Minnesota.

Myrmeleontidae - Antlions: Diagnostic characters: Antennae "short", about as long as head and thorax combined. Hypostigmatic cell (behind point of fusion of Sc and R1) several times as long as wide (very long). Resemble damselflies. Some "doodlebugs" construct conical pitfall traps in fine, dry, sandy soil to trap prey. Other are lie-in-wait predators. Photos: A large colorful antlion adult from Madagascar (inset: apex of wing showing hypostigmatic cell of a Florida species).

Ascalaphidae - Owlflies: Diagnostic characters: Antennae nearly as long as body, usually clubbed. Hypostigmatic cell short. Larvae live in the leaf litter or on bark. They lie-in-wait with their large jaws open, which are triggered to snap sut when contacted by prey. Adults roost in a fashion that resembles a twig. They are good fliers. Photo:An owlfly, Cordulecerus inquinatus, from Costa Rica.

Polystoechotidae - Giant Lacewings: Diagnostic characters: Large size, 40-70 mm. Rs with many branches forming a distinct venational pattern. These are increasingly rare insects. Once found also in the eastern states, they are now found only in the west. One species is attracted to smoke. Their biology is poorly known. Photo: A giant lacewing, Polystoechotes punctatus, Black Hills, South Dakota.

2 MEGALOPTERA Hind wings broader at base than front wings, with enlarged anal area folded fanwise at rest. Longitudinal veins usually not forking near wing margin.

Sialidae - Alderflies: Diagnostic characters: Body less than 25 mm. No ocelli. Fourth tarsal segment dilated and deeply bilobed. Wings usually dark, smoky-looking. Alderflies are common aqautic insects frequenting lakes and pools. The larvae occur on soft bottoms and feed on other aquatic insects. Photo: An alderfly, Sialis sp., from Minnesota.

Corydalidae - Fishflies, Dobsonflies: Diagnostic characters: Body usually longer than 25 mm. Ocelli present. Fourth tarsal segment cylindrical. Wings hyaline or with smoky areas. These are large robust insects with predaceous larvae (hellgrammites), most often frequenting rocky streams and rivers, but with some species in standing water. They pupate on land in earthern cells under stones or logs. Photos: The dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus, male, Minnesota. Head and mandibles of a male and female dobsonfly. Minnesota's other corydalids, the fishflies, Chauliodes rastricornis and Nigronia serricornis. Examples of the Neotropical genera Chloronia and Platyneuromus, both from Costa Rica.

3 RAPHIDIOPTERA Prothorax elongate. Forelegs arise from posterior end of prothorax and are similar to meso- and metathoracic legs.

Raphidiidae - Snakeflies: Diagnostic characters: Ocelli present. Adults are weak predators. Larvae occur under bark and are also predators. They require cool temperatures to develop and occur only in the West at higher elevations. Photo: A snakefly from California.

MECOPTERA Slender-bodied. Head prolonged below the eyes as a beak or rostrum.

Panorpidae -Scorpionflies: Diagnostic characters: Tarsi with two claws. Rs 5-branched (R2 forked). Male genitalia large and bulbous, usually curved upward and forward like a scorpion sting. Photos: A scorpion fly, Panorpa helana, and detail of head showing rostrum and extended clypeus. Panorpa subfasciata, male, showing scorpion-like posture of male genitalia. Both species are found in Minnesota. Panorpids are common in the shrubbery of shaded, moist woods. Larvae occur in the litter. Both stages feed on dead insects, sometimes on those trapped in spider webs.

Bittacidae - Hanging Scorpionflies: Diagnostic characters:Tarsi with 1 claw, raptorial. Fifth tarsal segment folding back against fourth. Rs 4-branched (R2 not forked). Wings narrower at base than in Panorpidae. Male genitalia enlarged but not bulbous. Adults hang from vegetation from their forelegs or fore- and midlegs (they cannot stand on their legs!). They feed by grasping out a prey with their hind legs and raptorial tarsi while hanging or flying close to the vegetation. Photos: Hanging scorpion fly, Bittacus strigosus, detail of raptorial tarsus and head, Minnesota.

4 Meropeidae - Earwigflies: Diagnostic characters: male with enlarged forceps-like genital appendages at end of abdomen. A single species in known from the US, Merope tuber, the earwigfly. Little is known of its biology, but they are fairly common in the Malaise trap in my backyard. The larval stages are unknown.

Boreidae - Snow Scorpionflies: Diagnostic characters: wings highly reduced. Adults emerge in winter and occur on the surface of snow. Larvae feed on mosses. Males have reduced, hooklike wings for grasping the female on his back during mating. Several years ago an entomology student collected a specimen in College Park, on Carter Ave. near the St. Paul campus.

SIPHONAPTERA

Small, apterous. Body laterally flattened and with numerous backward projecting spines and bristles. Ectoparasites of birds and mammals. Pulicidae - Common Fleas: Diagnostic characters: midcoxa without outer internal ridge; hind tibia without apical tooth; sensilum with 8 or 14 pits per side. Photos: The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis.

5 Characters for Identifying Common Families of Trichoptera1

TRICHOPTERA - Similar to moths in general appearance. Wings membranous, hairy, held rooflike over the abdomen at rest. Antennae long and slender. Mostly dull-colored, some conspicuously patterned. Mouthparts reduced, maxillary palps well developed. Larvae aquatic; build cases or spin silken nets.

Hydroptilidae - Microcaddisflies. Very small, ca 5 mm and less; hind wings narrow and acute, with fringe of long hairs (forewings also narrow and pointy in most species); head with or without ocelli; angulate posterior ridge on mesoscutellum. Microcaddisflies are common, abundant, and diverse in Minnesota, but especially in tropical regions. The larvae do not build cases until the final (5th instar). They live in a wide variety of habitats, but generally feed on algae. Agralyea, Hydroptila, and Oxyethira are common MN genera.

Hydropsychidae - Common Netspinning Caddisflies. Medium sized, 6-20 mm; head without ocelli; maxillary palps with 5 segments with the 5th segment long (at least 2X the 4th segment, usually longer) and flexible (in dry specimens appears curvy); mesoscutum without warts or setae. These are also common and widespread caddisflies. Adults can occur in large numbers; when attracted to city lights they can be a nuisance (like some mayflies). A very common species that can be seen in downtown Minneapolis is Potamyia flava. Its larva, like all hydropsychids, lives in running water (e.g., Mississippi River) and spins a silken filtering net from a fixed “retreat.” Other very common genera are Hydropsyche and Cheumatopsyche. Macrostemum zebratum is also common in the Mississippi River as it flows through the Twin Cities.

1 Characters and illustrations from Wiggins (2004), photographs from BugGuide.net 1 Case-making Caddisflies

Leptoceridae - Longhorned Caddisflies. Head without ocelli; antennae very long and slender, 2-3X as long as body; maxillary palps long and usually very hairy; mesoscutum with rows of diffuse setae, but without distinct warts. Very common and abundant caddisflies. The larvae live in running and standing water and build a variety of cases - entirely out of silk, spirally arranged plant pieces or like a log cabin, sand grains, or even of pieces of sponge. Very common MN genera include Triaenodes, Oecetis, Leptocerus, Nectopsyche, and Ceraclea - all common in the Twin Cities.

Limnephilidae - Northern Caddisflies. Head with 3 ocelli; maxillary palps 3-segmented in males, 5 in females, and the segments are more or less equal in length; tibial spur formula 1, 3, 4; medium to large (15-25 m); wings often patterned. Many genera in MN (19) with the most common ones being Limnephilus and Pycnopsyche. These are caddisflies of northern lakes, but many also live in streams. The larvae are shredders and most build cases of leaves, twigs, and pieces of bark.

Phryganeidae - Giant Caddisflies. Head with 3 prominent ocelli; maxillary palps usually 4-segmented in males, 5 in females; tibial spur formula 2, 4, 4; large to very large (20-40 m); wings often patterned, especially hind wing. These are also species of northern lakes, but some live in warmer standing water, including Banksiola crotchi, common in the Twin Cities. The larvae build cases of rectangular leaf pieces arranged in a spiral.

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