Sciency Thoughts: Green Lacewings

Showing posts with label Green Lacewings. Show all posts

Friday, 29 September 2017

Lithochrysa borealis: A new species of Green Lacewing from the Eocene of British Columbia.

The Neuroptera, or Net-winged Insects, first appeared in the Permian and reached their maximum diversity in the Permian, when they were the most numerous Insects in many ecosystems. They are non-metamorphic Insects, in that they do not go through a dramatic metamorphosis on reaching maturity in the way that Butterflies or Wasps do, but rather the larvae grow progressively more like the adults with each molt Nevertheless the larvae are often quite different from the adults and may have quite different ecological roles. Today the Neuroptera are somewhat of a relic group, with many of the Jurassic groups having become extinct and most of the surviving groups having much lower diversity. One group that are still very successful today are the Green Lacewings, Chrysopidae, with around 2000 species in about 85 genera found living around the world. This group was already well established by the Eocene, with 21 species described, all from North America.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 27 September 2017, Bruce Archibald of the Department of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University and Vladimir Marakin of the Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, describe a new species of Green Lacewing from an Early Eocene lacustrine shale exposed in the Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park of British Colombia.

The new species is placed in the genus Lithochrysa, which contains one previously described species, from the Eocene of Colorado, and given the specific name borealis, meaning 'northrn'. The species is described from an overlapping partial forewing and hindwing (fossil Insect species are often described from their wings, the venation of which is highly diagnostic).

Wings of Lithochrysa borealis. (A) Specimen as preserved, a crumpled forewing overlaying a partial hind wing; (B) forewing venation (hind wing not shown). Scale bar is 1 mm. Archibald & Makarin (2017).

Friday, 25 December 2015

Glenochrysa minima: A new species of Green Lacewing from Western Australia.

The Neuroptera, or Net-winged Insects, first appeared in the Permian and reached their maximum diversity in the Permian, when they were the most numerous Insects in many ecosystems. They are non-metamorphic Insects, in that they do not go through a dramatic metamorphosis on reaching maturity in the way that Butterflies or Wasps do, but rather the larvae grow progressively more like the adults with each molt Nevertheless the larvae are often quite different from the adults and may have quite different ecological roles. Today the Neuroptera are somewhat of a relic group, with many of the Jurassic groups having become extinct and most of the surviving groups having much lower diversity. One group that are still very successful today are the Green Lacewigs, Chrysopidae, with around 2000 species in about 85 genera found living around the world.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 1 December 2015, Shaun Winterton and Ivonne Garzón-Orduña of the California State Collection of Arthropods at the California Department of Food & Agriculture describe a new species of Green Lacewing from the El Questro-Emma Gorge Resort in northern Western Australia.

The new species is placed in the genus Glenochrysa, which is notable for the large finger-like prothoracic gland which protrudes from the back of the males as well as for often having distinctively patterned wings. Five species of this genus have previously been described from Australia, with another eleven known from tropical Africa, East Asia and the wider Austolasian region. It is named Glenochrysa minima, meaning small, due to its small size, with a forewing length of 7.5-7.8 mm, smaller than most other members of the genus.

Glenochrysa minima, male specimen in lateral view. Winterton & Garzón-Orduña (2015).

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

The larvae of an Apochrysinid Green Lacewing.

All Insects undergo a set number of moults in their lifetimes, with the phases between these moults known as ‘instars’. Many Insects undergo a dramatic metamorphosis with their final moult, producing an adult instar that bears little resemblance to the larval instars. This can make understanding the life-cycles of Insects difficult, since the larvae often lead very different lifestyles to the adults and may not be readily identifiable. The Apochrysinae are an ancient group of Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae), with an abundent fossil record but only 25 known living species divided into six genera, of these only the third larval instar of a single Japanese species (Apochrysa matsumurae) has ever been described.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 10 July 2014, Catherine Tauber of the Department of Entomology at Cornell University and the Department of Entomology & Nematology at the University of California, Davis, describes the larvae of a second Apochrysinid Green Lacewing species, Apochrysa voeltzkowi from the Tsitsikamma National Park in South Africa.

One specimen each of the first and second instars were examined, and two specimens of the third instar. The second instar specimen was judged to be close to moulting, so that its head and body were slightly swollen and distorted. For this reason formal descriptions of only the first and third instars were made.

The first instar (neonate) is about 1.6 mm in length and cream in colour with light brown markings on the head; the rest of the body lacked markings. The eyes protrude sideways, and the mandibles are long, thin and curved.

The first instar larvae of Apochrysa voeltzkowi in dorsal view. Tauber (2014).

The third instar was 7.3-8.9 mm in length with a white body with a grey median line and brown markings. The mandibles were long, thin and curved. This was essentially similar to the third instar larvae of Apochrysa matsumurae, although the latter lacked markings.

The third instar larvae of Apochrysa voeltzkowi in dorsal view. Tauber (2014).

Saturday, 25 August 2012

A new species of Green Lacewing discovered on Flikr®.

Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae) are a globally distributed group of carnivorous flying Insects, ranging from 6 to 65 mm in length (though the larger forms are exclusively tropical). The main prey of many temperate species is Aphids, making them a popular form of biological control. Green Lacewings were formerly grouped with Brown Lacewings (Hemerobiidae) as 'Lacewings', but these groups are now thought not to be very closely related, with Green Lacewings most closely related to Osmylid Flies (Netwings), while the Brown Lacewings are more closely related to Dustywings (Coniopterygidae), Spongeflies (Sisyridae) and Mantisflies.

In May 2011 amateur naturalist and photographer Hock Ping Guek spotted an unfamiliar Green Lacewing close to the entrance of the Selangor State Park in Peninsular Malaysia, which he photographed. He then placed the images of on the photo-sharing website Flikr®, in the hope that somebody would be able to identify the Insect. The pictures were seen by Shaun Winterton of the California State Collection of Arthropods at the California Department of Food & Agriculture, who realized that this was a species new to science, and contacted Guek to see if he was able to obtain another specimen of the insect, which he was (this is pretty amazing, many tropical insects are known only from single specimens).

Hock Ping Guek's original photograph of the new Green Lacewing. Winterton et al. (2012).

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 7 August 2012, Winterton, Guek and Stephen Brooks of the Department of Entomology at The Natural History Museum in London, formally describe the new Lacewing as Semachrysa jade, Jade's Green Lacewing, in honour of Winterton's daughter, based upon the new specimen obtained by Guek, and another specimen found in the Entomology Collection of The Natural History Museum in London, which was collected in Sabah State, Malaysian Borneo in 1981 (finding new species in museum collections is not unusual, many specimens are collected incidentally, by scientists studying other organisms).

The second specimen, from which the species Semachrysa jade was described. Winterton et al. (2012).

Semachrysa jade is a 15 mm Green Lacewing with a distinctive black marking on both wings. It was found in dense forrest 0.8 km south southwest of entrance of Selangor State Park in Peninsula Malaysia; the terrain where the Sabah specimen was collected is not recorded.

Map showing the location of the site where Guek collected his specimen. Google Maps.

The location of the site where Guek collected his specimen. Winterton et al. (2012).

Line drawing showing the distinctive markings on the wings of Semachrysa jade. Abbreviations: dcc, distal cubital cell; ig, inner gradate series; psc, pseudocubital vein; psm, pseudomedial vein; og; outer gradate series. Scale line: 1.0 mm. Winterton et al. (2012).