The specimen was found on a dry slope with xerophytic vegetation at 677 metres above sea level. Before this work, Georgia’s owlfly fauna comprised two genera and three species, while D. australis had not been reliably documented in the country. The checklist combines newly collected specimens with museum material and records from iNaturalist, the Georgian Biodiversity Database and a specialized Georgian wildlife Facebook group.

Most of the new material was gathered in 2021–2023 through the Caucasus Barcode of Life project using entomological nets during daytime, collection by hand and light traps. Collected specimens were preserved in 96% ethanol and stored at −22 °C in the scientific collections of Ilia State University, while some were kept dry in a private collection. Species were identified with the key published by Aspöck and colleagues, and sampling localities were mapped in QGIS 3.22.10.

For the molecular analysis, DNA was extracted from whole specimens with the Quick-DNA Magbead Plus Kit. Partial COI sequences were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using the LCOI490-JJ and HCO2198-JJ primers. The protocol comprised an initial 15-cycle set with annealing temperatures decreasing by 1 °C per cycle, followed by 25 cycles at 45 °C.

Amplicons were visualized on 1% agarose gels and sequenced in both directions at the Beijing Genomics Institute in Hong Kong. Sequence analysis was conducted in Geneious Prime 2022.1.1, and the resulting sequences were submitted to the Barcode of Life Data System. The molecular comparisons revealed taxonomic complications rather than an entirely straightforward correspondence between barcode matches and species identities.

For Libelloides ustulatus , the barcode was identical to a L. ustulatus sequence from Abastumani, Georgia. For L. macaronius , the closest BOLD match was L. coccajus from France at a p-distance of 1.07%, while L. macaronius from Cyprus ranked second at 1.22%. The D. australis barcode was separated from a D. variegata sequence from Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan region by a p-distance of 0.16%.

No barcode from a properly identified D. australis had previously been available in BOLD or GenBank. The authors propose that the small genetic distance might reflect potential misidentification of the GenBank specimen used for comparison. They also note that the observed morphological differences could represent variation within a single species, an issue that requires individual assessment of the material concerned.

Identification of the two Deleproctophylla species relied partly on differences in body size and wing and body coloration. D. australis is generally larger than the similar D. variegata and has extensive brownish-red spots on both wings below the pterostigma. The corresponding spots in D. variegata are visibly darker brownish black.

Additional distinctions include patterns on the pronotum and thorax, although the forewing spot in D. australis can sometimes be absent, complicating identification from a standard key. The annotated list contains Bubopsis hamata , Deleproctophylla australis , Libelloides macaronius and L. ustulatus . The first has a reported range from northeastern Africa to West Asia and the Caucasus; L. macaronius has a broad Ponto-Mediterranean distribution and was the most widespread species represented in Georgia.

L. ustulatus has a Caucaso-Anatolian distribution and has historically been treated as a subspecies of L. hispanicus , although some authors have recognized it at species level. The records indicate contrasting habitat and seasonal patterns. B. hamata , D. australis and L. macaronius were primarily associated with arid habitats in central and southeastern Georgia, with recorded flight periods from May through August.

L. ustulatus was concentrated along the Meskheti Range and near Tbilisi, mainly in forest meadows at approximately 700–2,200 metres above sea level, with a flight period from May to June. The authors consider it likely that the species also inhabits the subalpine belt of Georgia’s northern mountains, but that distribution was not directly documented. This was a faunistic inventory and molecular barcoding study, not a controlled ecological experiment.

The authors state that further research is needed to clarify their distribution and ecology, while larval stages of B. hamata and L. ustulatus remain undescribed. The checklist retains Ascalaphidae as a family despite a published phylogenomic proposal to merge it with Myrmeleontidae, because that proposal is not unanimously supported.

Subject of Research: Barcode-assisted faunistic inventory of four owlfly species in Georgia

Article Title: First barcode-assisted annotated checklist of owlflies ( Neuroptera , Myrmeleontidae , Ascalaphidae ) of Georgia with the first record of genus Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842

Article References: Japaridze, L.-G., Makharadze, G., Rostiashvili, I., Datunashvili, A., & Dobosz, R. (2024). First barcode-assisted annotated checklist of owlflies (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae) of Georgia with the first record of genus Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842. Caucasiana, 3, 5-18. https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.3.e117039

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/caucasiana.3.e117039

Keywords: owlflies, Georgia, Deleproctophylla australis, DNA barcoding, COI sequencing, faunistic checklist, Neuroptera, Ascalaphidae, biodiversity records, First, barcode-assisted, annotated

Its holotype is a complete female with a body length of 10.9 mm and an estimated total forewing length of more than 12.0 mm. The second new species, Stenobabinskaia chenjieae , is based on another amber specimen with elongated wings and detailed preservation of the legs. The new genus is distinguished from other babinskaiid genera by a combination of wing and body characters, including the small body size, a simple MP vein, numerous presectoral crossveins and paired long processes on the female sixth sternum.

Both fossils came from the Hukawng Valley in Tanai Township, Myikyina District, Kachin State, Myanmar. Uranium-lead dating of zircons from the amber deposit’s volcanoclastic matrix places the deposit at 98.8 ± 0.6 million years. The authors confirmed that the amber specimen reported in the study was collected and purchased before June 2017.

The holotypes are deposited in the Xiachong Amber Museum in Beijing, China. Milubabinskaia zhiqiae combines wing characters most similar to those of Burmobabinskaia with a pair of long processes on the female sixth sternum, a feature also reported in Electrobabinskaia and Pseudobabinskaia . The generic name combines “Milu,” referring to Père David’s deer, with Babinskaia , reflecting the authors’ description of the fossil as having a mosaic-like combination of characters from other babinskaiid genera.

Stenobabinskaia chenjieae is characterized by medial fusion of the RP stem with RA in both fore- and hind wings, a straight oblique presectoral crossvein and marginally forked MP2 branches in the hind wing. The study distinguishes six morphotypes of female genitalia among babinskaiids from Kachin amber. They differ in features including the presence or absence of posterior projections on sternum 6, distinct gonocoxites 8, and additional lobes or digging setae on gonocoxites 9.

The female of Milubabinskaia zhiqiae has a sixth sternum extended into paired long lobes, a fused semilunar gonocoxite 8, lateral projections on tergum 9, and paired lobe-like gonocoxites 9. Long sternal projections in babinskaiids have previously been interpreted as possible courtship or mating adaptations, and the researchers suggest that the specialized sternum of Milubabinskaia might have had a similar function. They state that the function of its distinct gonocoxites 8, the additional lobes of gonocoxites 9 and the anteriorly projecting tergum 9 is difficult to determine.

The varied anatomy therefore provides evidence consistent with diversified reproductive behavior, rather than proof of a specific reproductive function. The presence of digging setae on the female gonocoxites 9 of Calobabinskaia xiai may be indicative of a fossorial larval lifestyle, although many babinskaiid species are considered arboreal. The legs of Stenobabinskaia chenjieae bear regularly spaced spinous setae, paired tibial spurs and a bilobed arolium.

The authors identify possible functions for the setae and spurs, including defense against small predators or parasites and improved grip on struggling prey, but frame these as functional hypotheses. A bilobed arolium is also present in Calobabinskaia xiai and is typical of Nymphidae, whose adults are generally arboreal. This shared feature suggests, but does not demonstrate, a similar arboreal lifestyle for S. chenjieae .

The authors also note that the presence of digging setae in C. xiai might indicate ecological divergence between its adults and larvae. The authors additionally reconsider the sex of the holotype of Burmobabinskaia tenuis , originally identified as a male. They argue that the prominent sclerite on abdominal segment 8 is more likely to be the gonocoxites 8 of a female, while the ventrally expanded tergum 9 and enclosed gonocoxites 9 resemble females of other babinskaiids.

The interpretation is based on comparisons of sclerite and genital morphology with other specimens. Before these additions, Babinskaiidae contained 22 species in 16 genera, all known from the Cretaceous across approximately 35 million years, from the Barremian to the Cenomanian. Its records came from three deposits: the Lower Cretaceous Zaza Formation in Russia, the Crato Formation in Brazil and the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber in Myanmar.

Consequently, the ecology and behavior associated with many structures remain unresolved, and the paper does not establish a single lifestyle for the group.

Subject of Research: Fossil morphology and diversity of Cretaceous babinskaiid lacewings

Article Title: New Cretaceous fossils highlight the diverse reproductive behavior and life-styles of the extinct family Babinskaiidae ( Insecta , Neuroptera )

Article References: Lu, X., Wang, F., Zhuo, D., & Liu, X. (2026). New Cretaceous fossils highlight the diverse reproductive behavior and life-styles of the extinct family Babinskaiidae (Insecta, Neuroptera). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 73(1), 95-104. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.73.184533

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/dez.73.184533

Keywords: Babinskaiidae, Cretaceous fossils, Kachin amber, Neuroptera, lacewings, fossil classification, female genitalia, leg morphology, Myanmar, paleontology, Cretaceous, fossils

Antlions, members of the family Myrmeleontidae, are the largest family in the order Neuroptera, a group of insects that also includes lacewings and owlflies. Roughly 2,100 antlion species are known worldwide, organized into four subfamilies: Ascalaphinae, Dendroleontinae, Myrmeleontinae, and Nemoleontinae. The subfamily Nemoleontinae is cosmopolitan, containing 66 genera and more than 670 species distributed across four tribes: Glenurini, Megistopini, Nemoleontini, and Protoplectrini. Despite this global diversity, the Korean Peninsula had previously yielded only six recorded Nemoleontinae species, a number that now rises to eight with the two new records.

The genus Pseudoformicaleo, established by van der Weele in 1909, belongs to the tribe Nemoleontini and comprises eight species spread widely across the Old World, from Africa and the Middle East through Asia to Australia. Before this study, no member of the genus had ever been documented on the Korean Peninsula. The newly reported species, Pseudoformicaleo nubecula, was originally described as Creagris nubecula by Gerstaecker in 1885 from a type locality in Rockhampton, Australia, and has since accumulated a long list of synonyms reflecting its broad distribution and morphological variability, including names such as Pseudoformicaleo jacobsoni, Creagris matsuokae, Protoplectron costatus, Tahulus caligatus, Creagris horikawae, and Exiliunguleon nanus.

The second new record, Paraglenurus okinawensis, belongs to the tribe Megistopini, a placement refined by Zheng and colleagues in 2025 after the genus was originally classified under Nemoleontini. The genus Paraglenurus contains 13 species distributed across Asia, including China, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and the Russian Far East, as well as the African islands of Madagascar and the Seychelles. Three Paraglenurus species had already been recorded in Korea: Paraglenurus albiventris, Paraglenurus japonicus, and Paraglenurus melanostictus, the latter two newly documented as recently as 2025 by Kim and colleagues. Paraglenurus okinawensis, originally described as Glenuroides okinawensis by Okamoto in 1910 from Okinawa, Japan, was previously known only from Japan.

The specimens were collected on Bigeumdo Island in Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, through direct collections of adults using insect nets and light traps. All material is preserved dry and deposited at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, South Korea. The researchers documented the insects with a Canon EOS 6D camera and a Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm, while dissected genitalia were examined under a Leica S8AP0 stereomicroscope fitted with a Tucsen Dhyana 400 DC digital camera. Stacked photographs were produced with Helicon Focus software and processed in Adobe Photoshop, allowing detailed illustration of adult morphology and genital structures.

For genital preparation, the apex of each abdomen was treated with 10 percent potassium hydroxide at 70 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, then rinsed with distilled water and transferred to glycerin for examination. This standard technique clears soft tissue and reveals the sclerotized genital structures that are critical for species-level identification in antlions. Morphological terminology followed established conventions from prior antlion studies, and wing venation was described using standard abbreviations for the anal veins, cubitus anterior and posterior, media anterior and posterior, and radius anterior and posterior.

The diagnosis and supplementary description of Pseudoformicaleo nubecula reveal a striking insect. The antenna is as long as the head plus thorax, the eye is large and wider than the frons, and the legs are thick, with the first tarsomere very long and a tooth-like projection on the medial tarsal claw. The forewing carries dark brown markings with six or seven crossveins in the presectoral area, and the pterostigma is white with a proximal dark brown spot. Measured males ranged from 29.1 to 30.5 millimeters in body length with forewing lengths of 22.1 to 24.1 millimeters, while a single female measured 26.3 millimeters in body length. Notably, Pseudoformicaleo nubecula is the smallest myrmeleontid species recorded in Korea, and the male abdomen is shorter than the hindwing. The species was observed resting on plant stems at night on a rocky hill, consistent with the ambush-hunting lifestyle known for antlion larvae, though larvae were not examined during this study.

Paraglenurus okinawensis presents a different profile. The antenna is longer than the head plus thoracic length, the eye is nearly as wide as the frons, and the legs are slender, with the hind femur plus tibia nearly as long as the combined head and thorax. The pretarsal claw is opposable, a distinctive feature of the genus. The forewing displays white and dark brown markings with 9 to 11 crossveins in the presectoral area, and the hindwing is as long as the forewing. Males measured 20.3 to 20.9 millimeters in body length with forewing lengths of 21.4 to 22.2 millimeters, while females ranged from 20.6 to 22.1 millimeters in body length with forewing lengths of 24.1 to 26.3 millimeters. The male forewing length does not exceed 24 millimeters, making this a small species compared to its congeners, and the preapical dark marking on the hindwing is linear and parallel to the posterior margin, a key diagnostic trait. Unlike other Paraglenurus species that show relatively broad distributions across Korea, Paraglenurus okinawensis has so far been collected only near the coast of Bigeumdo, in a coastal forest behind the natural dune.

To facilitate future identification work, the researchers provided an updated taxonomic key to the species of Korean Nemoleontinae, now covering eight species across the genera Deutoleon, Distoleon, Pseudoformicaleo, and Paraglenurus. The key separates the tribes Nemoleontini and Megistopini by antenna length, eye size, leg thickness, and male genital structure, then distinguishes species by hindwing crossvein number, forewing length, abdominal coloration, and markings in the hindwing rhegma area. For Pseudoformicaleo nubecula, the combination of a hindwing presectoral area with only one crossvein, a forewing length of roughly 22 to 24 millimeters, and a male abdomen longer than the hindwing separates it from the larger Distoleon species. For Paraglenurus okinawensis, the linear preapical dark marking parallel to the hind margin distinguishes it from Paraglenurus albiventris, Paraglenurus melanostictus, and Paraglenurus japonicus, which show distally expanded markings and different abdominal patterns.

The broad distribution of Pseudoformicaleo nubecula, stretching from Asia to Australia and including Korea, Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, and Thailand, is accompanied by considerable morphological variation, and the authors note that additional molecular research is required to resolve species limits across this range. The suggested vernacular Korean names reflect the insects’ distinctive features: Kko-ri-myeong-ju-jam-ja-ri for Pseudoformicaleo nubecula, referring to the long abdomen of the male, and Kko-ma-byeol-bak-i-myeong-ju-jam-ja-ri for Paraglenurus okinawensis, recognizing it as the smallest species of its genus recorded on the Korean Peninsula. As surveys continue on Korea’s islands and coastal habitats, entomologists anticipate that further undocumented antlion diversity may yet come to light in these underexplored corners of East Asia.

Subject of Research: Biodiversity and Taxonomy

Article Title: New report of two Nemoleontinae species from the Korean Peninsula ( Neuroptera , Myrmeleontiformia , Myrmeleontidae )

Article References: Kim, J., Yang, J., & Kim, S. (2026). New report of two Nemoleontinae species from the Korean Peninsula (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontiformia, Myrmeleontidae). Biodiversity Data Journal, 14, Article e203903. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.14.e203903

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.14.e203903

Keywords: antlions, Neuroptera, Korean Peninsula, new species records, Nemoleontinae, Biodiversity Data Journal, entomology, report, species, Korean, Peninsula, Myrmeleontiformia

Mantidflies are among the most visually confusing insects in nature. Despite the name, they are not related to praying mantises at all. They belong to the order Neuroptera, the holometabolous lineage that also includes lacewings and antlions. Adult mantispids have evolved a triangular head, an elongated tubular prothorax and spiny raptorial forelegs that make them near-perfect ecological doppelgängers of mantises, a textbook case of convergent evolution. They are ambush predators, snatching other insects from foliage, and some species supplement their diet with pollen and nectar. Many also mimic stinging wasps, borrowing the warning colours of species they could never hope to fight.

The biology of the group is stranger still. Larvae of the largest subfamily, Mantispinae, are predatory on spider eggs. In a behaviour known as spider boarding, a mobile first-instar larva climbs onto a female spider and waits until she begins to spin her egg sac, then slips inside and feeds on the eggs as it develops through a hypermetamorphic life cycle. Later instars have dramatically reduced legs, effectively locking the larva into its stolen nursery. By contrast, larvae of the subfamily Symphrasinae, which recent studies have shown actually belongs within the family Rhachiberothidae, attack insect pupae instead. Recent morphological and molecular work has revealed that Mantispidae as traditionally defined is paraphyletic, and the relationships among its remaining subfamilies are still contested.

Euclimacia itself is a small but morphologically flamboyant genus within the diverse subfamily Mantispinae, which comprises roughly 320 species in 35 genera. Adults can be recognised by disc-like and symmetrical flagellomeres in the antennae, a short pronotum about as long as the pterothorax, pronounced dorsal humps and a forked 2A vein in the fore-wing. What makes the genus famous among entomologists is its colour variation. Some species are almost entirely black with blue-shimmering wings, echoing spider wasps of the family Pompilidae, while others are bright yellow and black-striped, resembling social wasps of the family Vespidae. The new Vietnamese species adds yet another palette to this collection of living costumes.

The type series consists of seven males and one female, collected at light traps in the Huong Hoa Nature Reserve in Quang Tri province in November 2007, with additional specimens from the Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve in Gia Lai province and Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh. The specimens had been held in the large Southeast Asian mantispid collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, with one paratype deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. For a genus in which 30 of the previously known species were described from a single specimen, a series of eight is comparatively luxurious, and the presence of both sexes allowed the authors to document sexual differences in rare detail.

The colour pattern of Euclimacia radioquaesentis is unique within the genus. The head and prothorax are a distinct yellow, while the rest of the thorax is almost uniformly black, creating a striking contrast along the body. The male abdomen is nearly completely black with only a few brown markings, whereas the female has a brownish abdomen with a black base. Most distinctive of all are the pterostigmata, the thickened cells near the leading edge of the wings: the fore-wing pterostigma is yellow, while the hind-wing pterostigma is brown. Six other Euclimacia species share this two-toned pterostigma character, but all differ in body colouration, with heads and prothoraces that are ferruginous, reddish-brown or completely black rather than markedly yellow.

The anatomical description goes far beyond colour. The authors measured the head width, pronotal proportions, femoral dimensions and wing venation of every specimen, revealing consistent ratios alongside notable variation. The number of subcostal veinlets in the costal space ranged from 11 to 16, and five of the seven males carried at least one bifurcated subcostal veinlet, a branching never seen on both fore-wings of the same individual. Such asymmetry within a single specimen appears to be the norm in this genus. The male genitalia, prepared by carefully perforating the abdomen and clearing it in potassium hydroxide, revealed an elongated arched mediuncus with a bifid apex, a strongly curved pseudopenis and s-shaped parameres, structures illustrated in fine detail for future comparisons.

The sexes of the new species differ in subtle but telling ways. The dark transverse band across the prothorax is reduced in the female, whose pronotal humps are barely developed, while in the male the hump is fully covered by a dark mark that merges with the marking over the macula. The female’s abdomen shows far more brown, and her wings appear more contrasting, with a darker posterior margin and an oblique band that reaches the wing edge. The authors note that they cannot yet determine whether these differences reflect true sexual dimorphism or simply the smaller body size of the female, a question that will require more material to resolve.

Even the name of the new species tells a story. The epithet radioquaesentis combines radio with the Latin quaesentis, meaning searched for, and was chosen through a collaboration between the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and Inforadio vom rbb, one of Berlin’s local radio stations. Listeners were invited to propose a scientific name after a species profile was broadcast, and radioquaesentis, searched for on the radio, was judged the most fitting suggestion. Three other species from different taxa were named in the same event, including a shrimp and a rove beetle whose descriptions have already been published. The goal was to raise awareness of the vast number of still undescribed species and to let citizens participate directly in taxonomy.

Much about Euclimacia remains unknown. Individual specimens can reach up to three centimetres in body length, yet scientific collections hold very few examples, and almost nothing is recorded about their behaviour or habitats by day or night. They often turn up as by-catch in light traps set for other insects, though there is no firm evidence that they are truly nocturnal, and targeted trapping has yielded disappointingly few specimens. The authors suspect that, like the related genus Climaciella, they feed on pollen and nectar at flowers during the day and may forage in higher tree levels. An ongoing revision of the genus aims to gather as much material as possible, since the emerging picture suggests some species, like the new radioquaesentis, show hardly any variation, while others, like the Taiwanese E. badia with its reddish and black morphotypes, vary dramatically, possibly in adaptation to different wasp mimicry models across regions.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic description of a new mantidfly species, Euclimacia radioquaesentis, from Vietnam

Article Title: A new species of the mantidfly genus Euclimacia from Vietnam ( Neuroptera , Mantispidae )

Article References: Ehlers, S., Li, H., Kirschey, L., & Ohl, M. (2024). A new species of the mantidfly genus Euclimacia from Vietnam (Neuroptera, Mantispidae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 71(2), 255-264. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.71.123553

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/dez.71.123553

Keywords: mantidfly, Neuroptera, Mantispidae, Euclimacia, new species, Vietnam, taxonomy, wasp mimicry, sexual dimorphism, citizen science, species, genus

Mantispidae is a relatively small family within the insect order Neuroptera, yet it possesses a complex taxonomic history that has challenged scientists for decades. In the Neotropical region, the family is represented by all four traditionally recognized subfamilies: Calomantispinae, Drepanicinae, Mantispinae, and Symphrasinae. However, recent phylogenetic studies have suggested a close evolutionary relationship between Symphrasinae and the family Rhachiberothidae. Consequently, Symphrasinae has recently been reclassified as a subfamily within Rhachiberothidae, leaving Mantispidae with a more restricted but distinct set of genera and species in the Neotropical realm. This reclassification underscores the dynamic nature of insect taxonomy and the importance of continuous revision.

The current genus-level classification of Neotropical Mantispidae is largely based on the revisionary study by Hoffman in 2002, which transferred many species previously placed in the European genus Mantispa to six new genera. Despite this progress, a large number of species names remained dubious, primarily because they were proposed by European authors in the early 1900s based on insufficient descriptions and illustrations. Many of these names also suffered from dubious geographic type locations, making it difficult for subsequent researchers to verify their identity. The present study aims to solve these problems by directly examining the original type specimens that were overlooked in previous taxonomic efforts.

The researchers analyzed a total of 28 species names, resulting in 14 new synonyms and six new combinations. Additionally, four names were designated as nomina dubia, meaning they are considered unusable for taxonomic purposes due to a lack of clear type specimens or descriptions. Ten lectotypes were designated to provide a single, definitive reference specimen for species that were originally described based on multiple individuals. High-resolution images of the type specimens for 19 species were provided in the study, offering a valuable visual resource for future researchers. This detailed documentation helps to bridge the gap between historical descriptions and modern taxonomic standards.

One notable finding involves the species Leptomantispa axillaris, which was described by Navás in 1908 from Brazil. For many years, the taxonomic identity of this species was uncertain because the original syntypes were believed to be lost. The study confirms that the types could not be located in the expected collections, but the authors propose treating the name as valid for nomenclatural stability. They note that the interpretation of the species proposed by Penny and Costa in 1983 matches the original description, and many specimens have been recorded in areas close to the type locality. The authors agree that a neotype should eventually be designated but refrain from doing so in this study due to the unavailability of material from the original type locality.

Another significant resolution concerns the species Dicromantispa basalis, originally described as Mantispilla basalis by Navás in 1927 from Bolivia. The original description was based on female specimens, but it was unclear whether one or more individuals were used. The type material is supposedly deposited in Navás’ collection, but no further information could be found. Based on the original description, which highlights a yellowish color and specific markings on the vertex and pronotum, the authors synonymize this name under Dicromantispa gracilis. This decision is supported by the fact that D. gracilis is a widespread species with records from Bolivia, and the characters described for basalis align closely with those of gracilis.

The study also addresses the status of Mantispilla boliviana, described by Navás in 1927 from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Similar to basalis, the type material is likely lost, and the original description is too unspecific to unambiguously associate the species with any of the current valid genera in South America. Due to the absence of the type series and the ambiguity of the description, the authors consider this species a nomen dubium. This designation highlights the challenges faced by taxonomists when dealing with historical data that lacks clear physical evidence or detailed morphological descriptions.

Further taxonomic clarifications were made for several species in the genus Zeugomantispa. For instance, Mantispilla chlorodes, described from Panama in 1914, was synonymized under Zeugomantispa virescens after the examination of its lectotype. The lectotype, a specimen of unknown sex from the Natural History Museum in London, displays all the major characters of Z. virescens, including a green pterostigma and straight crossveins in the forewing. Similarly, Mantispilla chlorotica, described from Paraguay in 1912, was also synonymized under Z. virescens based on the analysis of its lectotype from the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich. These findings reinforce the widespread nature of Z. virescens in the New World and its long list of synonyms.

The research also reveals a significant mislabeling case involving Mantispa latifrons, described by Enderlein in 1910 from Brazil. Upon examination of the male holotype, it became clear that the specimen possesses all the diagnostic characters of the Australian genus Campion, including simple claws on the mid and hind legs. Dissection of the male genitalia further confirmed its placement in Campion. The authors propose the new combination Campion latifrons, noting that the species is likely a synonym of the widespread Australian species C. tenuistriga. This finding suggests that the type specimen was mislabeled and does not actually occur in the New World, a rare but important correction in biogeographic records.

In conclusion, this study makes substantial contributions to the taxonomy of Neotropical Mantispidae by resolving numerous dubious names and providing high-quality documentation of type specimens. The designation of new synonyms and combinations helps to streamline the classification of the family, while the identification of nomina dubia acknowledges the limitations of historical data. The work underscores the importance of revisiting type specimens in museum collections to address taxonomic uncertainties. By combining detailed morphological analysis with historical literature review, the researchers have provided a more accurate and stable framework for future studies on mantidflies in the Neotropical region.

Subject of Research: Solving taxonomic and nomenclatural problems among the Neotropical species of the family Mantispidae (Insecta, Neuroptera)

Article Title: Solving taxonomic and nomenclatural problems among the Neotropical species of the family Mantispidae ( Insecta , Neuroptera )

Article References: Pires Machado, R. J., Li, H., & Ohl, M. (2025). Solving taxonomic and nomenclatural problems among the Neotropical species of the family Mantispidae (Insecta, Neuroptera). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 72(1), 57-83. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.72.148626

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/dez.72.148626

Keywords: Solving, taxonomic, nomenclatural, problems, Neotropical, species, family, Mantispidae, Insecta, Neuroptera, scientific research

Pleasing lacewings are small neuropteran insects, related to green lacewings and antlions, found across the Palaearctic and Oriental regions. The genus Dilar, established in 1838, is by far the most species-rich member of its family, with 95 described living species worldwide. Despite their largely similar external appearance, these insects conceal remarkable anatomical variety in their genital structures, which taxonomists rely on to tell species apart. China has long been recognised as a hotspot for the genus, with 41 species recorded before this latest study, more than any other country.

The new research, led by entomologists at the Entomological Museum of China Agricultural University in Beijing, describes eight new species: Dilar jiquanyui, D. lanlingensis, D. lulanae, D. puerensis, D. qiongduensis, D. tuyuezhengi, D. weiningensis and D. yangyingae. All were collected from Oriental China, and six of them come from the country’s southwest, reinforcing the status of this area as a key distribution centre for the genus. The species were named in honour of the collectors who found them and after historic place names connected to their type localities.

To characterise the new species, the team prepared and examined the genitalia of male and female specimens using potassium hydroxide maceration, clearing the abdominal apex at 120 degrees Celsius for six to eight minutes before transferring the structures to glycerine for study. Photographs were taken with a Nikon D800 digital camera and a Leica DM 2000 optical microscope, while detailed line drawings of the genitalia were produced by hand using a stereomicroscope. This combination of imaging and illustration allowed the researchers to document the fine morphological differences that separate closely related species.

The male genitalia of Dilar lacewings are extraordinarily complex, comprising several sclerotised components including gonocoxites 9, 10 and 11, the ectoproct, and the hypandrium internum. Each species exhibits a distinctive arrangement of lobes, projections and curvatures in these structures. For example, Dilar yangyingae, from Hubei Province, is notable for its extremely short male gonocoxite 9, which is only one-fifth the length of gonocoxite 10, and for a pair of slender elongate projections on the ectoproct that reach nearly half the length of the entire structure. Dilar qiongduensis, from Sichuan Province, is distinguished by a notably inflated gonocoxite 9 with a rectangular proximal half and W-shaped fused gonocoxites 11.

Beyond describing the new species, the researchers reclassified the Chinese Dilar fauna into six species-groups, adding a new grouping to accommodate species described since the last comprehensive revision in 2015. The Dilar hastatus species-group is the largest, now containing 16 Chinese species, followed by the Dilar guangxiensis group with 10. Three species-groups — D. yunnanus, D. lijiangensis and D. spectabilis — each contain four or fewer Chinese representatives, while the D. caesarulus group is represented by a single Chinese species more closely allied to Central Asian fauna. Eleven Chinese species, including several of the newly described ones, could not yet be confidently assigned to any defined group.

To understand how these lacewings are distributed across the country, the team compiled 186 coordinate records covering 49 Chinese species and analysed them against the seven traditional zoogeographic regions of China. The results show a striking imbalance: roughly 45 of the 49 species occur in Oriental China, while the three Palaearctic regions together harbour only a handful. The South-western China Region alone contains 17 species across five species-groups, with 12 of them endemic, making it the primary diversity centre. The Mid-China and South China regions each also hold 17 species, with South China showing the highest endemism at 82.4 percent.

One of the most intriguing findings concerns Dilar lanlingensis, collected from Mount Jintanmaoshan in Jiangsu Province. This is the first record of the genus in Jiangsu since 1932, when the French entomologist R. Navás described Dilar subdolus from a nearby locality. Because the type specimen of D. subdolus has been lost and its original description lacks diagnostic characters, the species was later designated a nomen dubium. The researchers note that the possibility that D. lanlingensis is conspecific with D. subdolus cannot be ruled out, given the geographic proximity of the type localities.

The study also draws attention to a subtle anatomical feature shared by several species: a weakly protruding posteromedial portion of the male ninth tergum, accompanied by a strongly sclerotised median area. This condition, now documented in D. lanlingensis, D. tuyuezhengi, D. maculosus and D. septentrionalis, resembles the well-developed dorsoprocessus found in the D. guangxiensis species-group and in Central Asian and European relatives. The researchers suggest that the sclerotised area may provide structural reinforcement for the dorsoprocessus, potentially facilitating copulatory mechanisms or species recognition, and that species bearing this weakly protruding structure may share a closer evolutionary relationship with the D. guangxiensis group than previously appreciated.

The biogeographic picture that emerges is one of a genus shaped by complex historical processes. Southwestern China stands out as a primary diversification centre with high endemism, while the Mid-China Region serves as a secondary centre, particularly for the D. hastatus species-group, which shows strong faunal affinities with adjacent regions including northeastern China, North China and Taiwan Island. Faunal exchange between the Mid-China and South-western regions appears limited, with only a few species occurring at regional boundaries. Meanwhile, the Dilar species of the Qinghai-Xizang Region, though classified within a Palaearctic subregion, exhibit strong Oriental affinities, suggesting an extension of Himalayan biogeographic elements. The researchers emphasise that the underlying mechanisms driving these patterns — lineage diversification, historical dispersal and ecological specialisation — remain to be elucidated through future empirical studies incorporating broader taxon sampling and molecular phylogenetics.

Subject of Research: Taxonomy and biogeography of the pleasing lacewing genus Dilar in China

Article Title: Similar but diverse: New species and distribution pattern of the pleasing lacewing genus Dilar Rambur, 1838 ( Neuroptera , Dilaridae ) from China

Article References: Li, D., & Liu, X. (2025). Similar but diverse: New species and distribution pattern of the pleasing lacewing genus Dilar Rambur, 1838 (Neuroptera, Dilaridae) from China. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 72(2), 155-178. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.72.160701

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/dez.72.160701

Keywords: Dilar, Dilaridae, Neuroptera, pleasing lacewings, new species, China, taxonomy, biogeography, southwestern China, entomology, species-groups, zoogeography

Type specimens are the single most important objects in taxonomy. When a scientist describes a new species, one particular specimen becomes the name-bearer, the physical anchor to which the scientific name is permanently attached. If that specimen disappears, the species itself becomes harder to define, and in the worst cases the name turns into a nomen dubium, a doubtful name that can no longer be reliably assigned to any animal. That is why catalogues like this one, compiled by researchers at the Vienna museum, matter far beyond the walls of a single institution.

The Vienna collection itself is one of the most important in the world, comprising around 24,350 specimens, including 350 Megaloptera and 2,000 Neuroptera. Its foundations were laid by Friedrich Moritz Brauer, a schoolboy obsessed with lacewings who grew up to become Director of the Zoological Department at the institutions preceding the museum. His private collection, handed over posthumously in 1905, contained numerous type specimens by Brauer, Selys, Hagen and others, and is still evidenced today by the labels reading Coll. Brauer. A second golden era began in the early 1960s, when Ulrike Aspöck and Horst Aspöck launched an intensive neuropterological research program that continues unabated, with countless expeditions to the Mediterranean, southern Africa, India, Kyrgyzstan, the Far East, Australia and the Americas.

The catalogue’s historical introduction reaches back even further, to the sixteenth century, when the Flemish miniature painter Joris Hoefnagel created the first reliable depictions of neuropterid specimens in his manuscript Four Elements. Among his illustrations are an alderfly, probably a specimen of Sialis, and a green lacewing, likely Chrysoperla in its pale yellowish-brown winter coloration. Hoefnagel’s images, arranged like still-life paintings and headed with proverbs from the Bible and Erasmus’ Adagia, belong partly to artwork and partly to epistemic image, a singular manuscript accessible only to a small courtly audience. In the pre-Linnaean era, naturalists called these insects flies, butterflies, water insects, or even grouped them close to the dragonflies, and it took centuries of entomological work to untangle Linnaeus’ original order Neuroptera into the modern orders Raphidioptera, Megaloptera and Neuroptera that today form the superorder Neuropterida.

Among the documented treasures are specimens with remarkable stories. The holotype of Sialis vanderweelei, described from Egypt in 1983, carries a label noting that more precise collection data are unfortunately not available. The lectotype of Chauliodes punctatoguttatus from Java was once mislabeled as belonging to a different species, Chauliodes dispar, until later researchers recognized that the two female syntypes were not conspecific with the male and designated them as the type series of the new species. The holotype of Chloronia plaumanni from Brazil was originally labeled as a different species entirely, hieroglyphicus, before Penny and Flint recognized it as new in 1982.

Some entries reveal errors that persisted for over a century. The holotype of the osmylid lacewing Gumilla adspersus, described by the Spanish Jesuit priest Longinos Navás in 1912, carries the locality Blumenau in Brazil, but Navás transcribed the collector’s name as Hetschka and the town as Blumenan. The catalogue corrects both: the collector was Ing. Lothar Hetschko, who lived and collected in the former German colony Blumenau for three years until his sudden death in 1885. Even more puzzling, Navás recorded the type locality of Spilosmylus aureus as Siberia, although the specimen was collected on the Indonesian island of Obi; the catalogue suggests Navás may have confused the island Obi with the river Ob in Siberia, noting that the collector Hans Fruhstorfer never collected in western Siberia but mainly in southeast Asia.

Not every labeled type is what it claims to be. The catalogue lists two specimens whose type status could not be confirmed, including one labeled as a type of Osmylus naevius from Sikkim, India. The term Type on its label, the researchers found, refers not to the species but to the genus Mesosmylus, which Krüger established based on this specimen in 1913. The actual syntype of the species is deposited in the British Museum in London. Similarly, a specimen labeled as a paratype of Dilar zimmermannae from Myanmar is not listed in the original description at all.

The most sobering section concerns types reported to be stored in Vienna but apparently lost. Types of 14 species are missing, including the holotype of the mantisfly Mantispa aphavexelte from the Greek island of Samothraki, which the original description explicitly stated had been transferred to the Vienna museum. The wet collections yielded no trace of alcohol-preserved types of several Dilar species from France, Laos and China, nor of the beaded lacewing Speleoberotha palomae from Brazil, whose original description listed two male and two female paratypes in Vienna.

An even deeper historical mystery surrounds eight Hemerobiidae species described by Gustav von Gözsy in 1852, all supposedly from Austria. The catalogue’s authors traced the otherwise unknown author through church registers, discovering that his surname was spelled Göszy at his baptism in Schwechat and in his marriage register at St. Augustin, but handwritten corrections dated March 1900 changed the name to Gözsy. A childhood friend of Brauer, Gözsy studied medicine at the University of Vienna before a life-threatening illness and the voluntary death of his father derailed his studies. He later obtained a doctorate in philosophy, trained as an archivist, and worked in the cipher department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until his death in 1885. Virtually nothing is known about the fate of his type specimens, and the only remnant today is a single label with the handwritten inscription Kollari Gözsy Type, its handwriting matching Gözsy’s letter of application. The specimen it once belonged to is gone, and with it the physical evidence for eight species names, several of which must now stand as nomina dubia.

The catalogue documents each entry with meticulous detail: the page number of the original description, the type locality, the current taxonomic status, and verbatim label texts marked with square brackets, with handwritten text in italics and authors’ remarks in curly brackets. Most material is dried and pinned, with a few specimens preserved in 75 percent ethanol or glycerine, and macerated genital segments stored in small glass vials pinned to their specimens. The work forms the second part of a series documenting the Vienna type collections, following a catalogue of the snakefly order Raphidioptera, and brings the taxonomic status of all treated taxa up to date using the latest nomenclatural references. For taxonomists worldwide, it transforms a collection of pinned insects into a verified, searchable record of scientific history, preserving what remains and honestly documenting what has been lost.

Subject of Research: Type specimens of Neuropterida ( Insecta ) in the Natural History Museum Vienna. II. Megaloptera and Neuroptera partim

Article Title: Type specimens of Neuropterida ( Insecta ) in the Natural History Museum Vienna. II. Megaloptera and Neuroptera partim

Article References: Randolf, S., Kleewein, A., Bruckner, H., & Aspöck, U. (2026). Type specimens of Neuropterida (Insecta) in the Natural History Museum Vienna. II. Megaloptera and Neuroptera partim. Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna, 127, 155-186. https://doi.org/10.3897/anhmw.179298

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/anhmw.179298

Keywords: Type, specimens, Neuropterida, Insecta, Natural, History, Museum, Vienna, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, partim, scientific research

Brown lacewings of the genus Hemerobius are delicate, predatory insects whose larvae feed on aphids, scale insects and other soft-bodied arthropods, making them quiet allies of mountain forest health. Within the Palearctic, four recognized species belong to the so-called Hemerobius nitidulus group: H. handschini, H. nitidulus, H. schedli and the recently renamed H. sucinus. All four share uniformly coloured wings with dotted veins but without spots, a resemblance so close that even specialists have struggled to tell them apart. While H. handschini and H. nitidulus are rather common in Central Europe, H. schedli has been recorded only rarely, with a distribution stretching from the French Pyrenees to the Rila Mountains in Bulgaria and the Baba Mountains in North Macedonia.

What sets H. schedli apart ecologically is its apparent dependence on a single tree. Whereas its two common relatives live on a variety of pine species, H. schedli seems restricted to the Swiss stone pine, Pinus cembra, in the Alps and to the Macedonian pine, Pinus peuce, in Eastern Europe. Its larvae and adults prey on homopteran insects, with the first instars feeding on eriophyid mites and insect eggs. The fourth member of the group, H. sucinus, remains so poorly known, with only a handful of specimens from France, that its status as a valid species distinct from H. nitidulus is still uncertain.

For Switzerland, the only published record of H. schedli dated back to 1991, when the specialist Victor Monserrat reported three male and three female specimens collected in 1927 in the Upper Engadine by M.E. Mosely and stored in the Natural History Museum in London. Because that report had been overlooked, the species was never included in the Swiss national species list or the national database of Neuropterida, and its presence in the country remained officially uncertain. The nearest confirmed populations lay elsewhere in the Alps: in Austria’s Vorarlberg about 45 kilometres from the nearest Swiss site, in Liechtenstein about 70 kilometres away, and in southern Germany roughly 110 kilometres distant.

The new confirmation grew out of a comprehensive revision launched in 2020, in which researchers set out to examine all Neuropterida specimens, the orders comprising lacewings, alderflies and snakeflies, held in Swiss museums. The goal was to identify unclassified material, update names to reflect current taxonomy, and refresh the distribution maps in the Swiss National Database. Fourteen institutional collections were processed, from the Natural History Museum Basel to the Museo cantonale di storia naturale in Lugano. None of the visited museums held specimens labelled as H. schedli, but at the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, several males previously identified as H. handschini turned out, on closer inspection, to be something else entirely.

Those Basel specimens had been collected by the entomologist Willy Eglin and colleagues during scientific studies in and around the Swiss National Park between 1938 and 1978. All the newly recognized H. schedli males had been caught by Eglin between 1950 and 1963, at localities such as Trupchun, Buffalora and Süsom Givè at altitudes between 2000 and 2200 metres, always on stone pine. At the time, H. schedli had not yet been described, so Eglin had no way of recognizing it as a distinct species. Meanwhile, a visit to the Natural History Museum in London located the historical Swiss specimens reported by Monserrat, including a Pontresina male originally identified by the Victorian-era entomologist R. McLachlan as H. nitidulus, and four Upper Engadine males from 1927 that Monserrat had reidentified without leaving labels behind.

Armed with precise locality data from the old labels, the team returned to the field. In the summers of 2023 and 2024 they searched the Engadin region in the Canton of Grisons using beating nets and light traps, and in 2025 they visited the Visper Valley in the Canton of Valais. The effort paid off quickly. In July 2024, two male H. schedli were taken at light at Buffalora in Val Müstair at 1995 metres, alongside a single male of the similar H. handschini, and at Munt Baselgia near Zernez at 2215 metres only H. schedli appeared, together with three females provisionally assigned to the species. In July 2025, one more male was beaten from a stone pine at Visperterminen in Valais at 1945 metres. Together with the museum material, these captures confirmed both the historical and the current presence of H. schedli in Switzerland.

Identifying these insects is far from trivial, and the technical details reveal why the species has been so widely overlooked. Like all members of the group, H. schedli has brownish, spotless forewings with dotted veins, and like H. handschini it generally shows a dark frons, the front of the head, whereas H. nitidulus tends to be paler there. But frons colour is not always reliable, particularly in old or damaged specimens. The decisive characters lie in the male genitalia. Most identification keys separate H. handschini from H. schedli by comparing the lengths of the ectoproct’s distal lobes, the katoprocessus and anoprocessus, yet some authors warn that these lengths partially overlap. The researchers therefore prepared the genitalia of every male in 10 percent potassium hydroxide solution, softening the abdominal apex to expose the internal structures mounted on slides in Euparal. The internal genital architecture proved decisive: in H. schedli the two arms of the gonarcus, the entoprocessus, are clearly divergent, whereas in both H. handschini and H. nitidulus they converge. The team never observed the katoprocessus significantly longer than the anoprocessus in any H. schedli male, as would be expected in H. handschini, and found the divergent entoprocessus arms more dependable than the gonarcus shape suggested in existing keys.

Females present a stubborn problem. Despite earlier descriptions, female genital structures do not appear sufficiently reliable for species identification, and they are often missing from published keys altogether. As a result, females of H. schedli and H. handschini remain mostly indistinguishable, as do those of H. nitidulus when the frons is not clearly pale. Without dependable criteria, female identifications can only be inferred when no males of other group members occur in the area, or when genetic analysis is available. That genetic angle matters for another reason: the strong morphological similarity among the three species once led some specialists to doubt they were distinct at all, suggesting they might be morphs of a single species. But a 2022 study reported a clear genetic distinction between H. schedli and the other two, which themselves proved harder to separate genetically, echoing an earlier analysis that had failed to distinguish H. handschini from H. nitidulus by DNA while not including H. schedli at all.

The ecological story behind the lacewing’s rarity may hinge on its prey. The authors suggest that H. schedli could be specialized on the aphid Cinara cembrae, a monophagous species living only on stone pine at altitudes of 1800 to 2100 metres, almost exactly the band where the lacewing occurs. Its two common relatives feed on a broader range of homopteran prey and are therefore not tied to particular conifers or elevations. That specialization carries a warning for the future. Stone pine is a postglacial relict with a fragmented distribution, already threatened by climate change, and its populations may be forced upslope into ever scarcer habitat. Any shift in the pine’s fate would ripple through the aphid and then the lacewing, a species already considered rare and listed on various European Red Lists. The new Swiss records, at sites between 1945 and 2215 metres, fit the known altitudinal range, though the species has been recorded as high as 2740 metres in Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains and 3090 metres in the Zillertal Alps, likely as wind-blown strays above the treeline. For now, the message for alpine entomologists is clear: any lacewing of the nitidulus group collected in stone pine stands deserves a close look at its male genitalia, because H. schedli may be hiding in plain sight.

Subject of Research: Rediscovery and confirmation of the rare alpine brown lacewing Hemerobius schedli in Switzerland

Article Title: The alpine brown lacewing insect Hemerobius schedli ( Neuroptera , Hemerobiidae ) in Switzerland

Article References: Koch, B., & Duelli, P. (2025). The alpine brown lacewing insect Hemerobius schedli (Neuroptera, Hemerobiidae) in Switzerland. Alpine Entomology, 9, 65-71. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.9.162964

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/alpento.9.162964

Keywords: Hemerobius schedli, brown lacewings, Neuroptera, Swiss National Park, Pinus cembra, Swiss stone pine, alpine entomology, museum specimens, male genitalia, Cinara cembrae, climate change, species distribution

The revision, published in the Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, was led by Yuchen Zheng of China Agricultural University, together with Davide Badano and Xingyue Liu. It represents the first integrative taxonomic treatment of Nuglerus, combining detailed morphological examination of type specimens with DNA barcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene. The work was made possible by the examination of types and additional material held in collections across Europe, North America, and Asia, including the Natural History Museum in London, the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, and the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Nuglerus belongs to the antlion family Myrmeleontidae, a neuropteran lineage with a worldwide distribution comprising roughly 303 genera and about 2100 species. Antlions are famous for their larvae, many of which dig into sand or dried debris to hide and ambush prey, sometimes building the iconic sandy pit-shaped traps that have earned them the nickname doodlebugs. While sandy habitats are scarcer in forests than in open environments, forest-dwelling antlions have evolved remarkable alternative habits: some live in wet soil, others under rock overhangs, in leaf litter, on the surface of living plants, in tree holes, or on rock surfaces. The subfamily Dendroleontinae, to which Nuglerus belongs, is a lineage adapted to forest environments, with its present center of diversity in the humid forests of the Oriental and Australian regions, where more than 170 species are known.

Before this revision, Nuglerus included only three valid species: N. maculatus from Indochina, N. pustulatus from Sri Lanka, and N. scalaris, described in 1912 with a type locality erroneously recorded as Brazil. All three were described from single specimens, and additional material has rarely been reported. The systematic position of the genus has long been debated, having been treated as a monogeneric subtribe within Dendroleontini or as a separate tribe based exclusively on morphological characters. Because of the lack of specimens, Nuglerus was not included in the phylogenomic analysis of Machado and colleagues in 2019 and was only provisionally placed in Dendroleontini pending further revision.

The new study resolves several long-standing taxonomic puzzles. The team found that N. scalaris, whose type locality was clearly wrong since the species does not occur in the New World, is in fact identical in body and wing markings to the Sri Lankan N. pustulatus and is now treated as a junior synonym of that species. The Philippine species N. insignis, described by Banks in 1939 and previously considered a junior synonym of N. maculatus, has been restored as a valid species based on examination of type material and further specimens from Palawan. The two species are allopatric, with N. insignis distributed in the Philippine Islands and N. maculatus in Indochina, and COI barcode results confirm they are clearly distinct, with interspecific genetic divergence of about 0.144 to 0.146.

Perhaps the most surprising result is the transfer of Acratoleon dispar Banks, 1934, endemic to Borneo in Malaysia, to Nuglerus as a new combination. The examination of the holotype revealed that it displays all the diagnostic characters of Nuglerus, including the gently curved forewing second anal vein, the presence of at most two hindwing presectoral crossveins, and plate-like male gonocoxites 9. By contrast, the type species of Acratoleon, A. flavum from the Solomon Islands, has a forewing second anal vein that bends at a sharp angle toward the third anal vein, confirming it is a member of the subfamily Nemoleontinae. The reassignment of N. dispar underscores how much hidden diversity and misclassification still exists among tropical rainforest insects.

Four new species are described in the revision. Nuglerus guimaraesae, from southern India, is named in honor of Monica Guimaraes Cruz, curator at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, and may be endemic to the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats. Nuglerus maizuqii, from the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia, is dedicated to Mr. Zuqi Mai, who collected the holotype. Nuglerus ruzzieri, from Sulawesi in Indonesia, is named after the Italian entomologist Enrico Ruzzier, who brought the specimen to the attention of the authors. Nuglerus shihongliangi, from Bali in Indonesia, was collected in coastal tropical rainforest and is named in honor of Dr. Hongliang Shi, a coleopterologist and one of the collectors of the holotype. Each new species is distinguished by a unique combination of characters, including the shape and extent of the thickened brown marking on the wing poststigmal area, the coloration of the vertex, pronotum, and mesonotum, and the structure of the female genitalia.

The molecular analysis sequenced the COI barcode region for six specimens of Nuglerus and two specimens of Layahima chiangi as outgroups. Interspecific genetic divergence among the five species of Nuglerus analyzed ranged from 0.098 to 0.149, while intraspecific divergence between the two specimens of N. insignis was only 0.012. These values are congruent with the morphological species boundaries proposed in the revision. The phylogenetic analyses, performed using maximum likelihood and neighbour-joining methods, produced identical tree topologies, further supporting the distinctness of the newly recognized species.

One of the most important discoveries of the study is the first description of the larval stage of Nuglerus, based on a third-instar larva of N. maizuqii from Malaysia. The larva was found on a karst limestone platform in a tropical rainforest, where it covered itself in a shallow layer of dry sandy debris and ambushed prey. When exposed on the surface, the larva moved relatively quickly, pausing regularly. The adult rests with its wings flattened against the substrate and may prefer wider surfaces such as bark or rocks rather than slender branches. Larval morphology provides key phylogenetic evidence: several characters, including the absence of an odontoid process on abdominal segment 8, the relatively elongate segment 9, and the reduced rastrum and digging setae, are consistent with the tribe Dendroleontini. However, other features, such as the absence of Miller’s organ, the relatively short fore femur, and the non-upturned mandible, are typical of the tribe Acanthoplectrini. The setose plate on the anterior part of female gonocoxites 9 is also present in Australian Acanthoplectrini. These characters suggest that Nuglerus may be a transitional lineage between Acanthoplectrini and Dendroleontini, a hypothesis that a comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Dendroleontinae will help test.

The discovery of the larval habitat also has important conservation implications. Karst limestone habitats, which likely provide stable shade, temperature, and humidity, as well as moss, lichens, and salts that attract invertebrate prey, have been extensively quarried from Indochina to the Malay Peninsula in recent decades. As with many species endemic to karst habitats, Nuglerus probably faces similar ecological threats. The distribution pattern of the genus, with only two species recorded from South Asia, divergence between Indochina and the Malay Peninsula possibly related to the Isthmus of Kra, and the highest species richness on Southeast Asian islands, may reflect the restriction of Nuglerus to karst limestone habitats within tropical rainforests. Island isolation and fragmented karst habitats likely facilitated divergence among insular Southeast Asian species. Future sampling of fresh material will be essential for reconstructing the historical biogeography of this rare rainforest antlion genus and for providing baseline data for the conservation of karst fauna.

Subject of Research: Taxonomy and biodiversity of tropical rainforest antlions

Article Title: A revision of the antlion genus Nuglerus Navás, 1912 ( Neuroptera , Myrmeleontidae , Dendroleontinae ) from the Oriental region, including four new species and the first larval record of the genus

Article References: Zheng, Y., Badano, D., & Liu, X. (2026). A revision of the antlion genus Nuglerus Navás, 1912 (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae, Dendroleontinae) from the Oriental region, including four new species and the first larval record of the genus. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 73(2), 333-362. https://doi.org/10.3897/dez.73.188790

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/dez.73.188790

Keywords: antlions, Nuglerus, Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae, Dendroleontinae, new species, taxonomy, DNA barcoding, tropical rainforest, karst limestone, Oriental region, larval morphology

The scale of the survey is one of its distinguishing features. The researchers collected 1,387 invertebrate specimens spanning nine major groups: soil nematodes, earthworms, leeches, snails, slugs, ticks, woodlice, millipedes, and insects. Each specimen was screened for Blastocystis using molecular methods that target the organism’s small subunit ribosomal RNA gene, the standard barcode for identifying this parasite and assigning it to one of its recognized subtypes. Morphological observation complemented the genetic work, allowing the team to look for the characteristic vacuolated and granular forms that Blastocystis can adopt under the microscope.

The results were strikingly uneven across the invertebrate tree. Insects stood out as the group in which Blastocystis DNA was most frequently detected, while the other invertebrate categories yielded almost nothing. Only a single tick tested positive, and no Blastocystis DNA was found in soil nematodes, earthworms, leeches, snails, slugs, woodlice, or millipedes. This pattern immediately raises the question of what makes insects different, and the authors suggest that the answer may lie in the ecology of the insects themselves: their living space, their habitat environment, and their feeding modes appear to be associated with whether the parasite’s genetic material shows up in them.

Within the insects, the detection rates varied considerably by order. Neuroptera, the lacewings and their relatives, showed the highest rate at 25 percent, a figure that demands attention even if the number of lacewing specimens screened was comparatively small. Hemiptera, the true bugs, followed at 5.66 percent, then Orthoptera, the grasshoppers and crickets, at 4.76 percent, Diptera, the flies, at 4.73 percent, Hymenoptera, the bees, wasps, and ants, at 2.75 percent, and Coleoptera, the beetles, at 2.63 percent. These are modest percentages for most groups, but the breadth of positive orders is what matters: Blastocystis DNA was recovered from six different insect orders, considerably expanding the known range of arthropod taxa in which the organism has been detected.

Subtype analysis added a second layer of insight. Blastocystis is conventionally divided into genetically distinct subtypes, known as STs, and only three of them, ST1, ST2, and ST3, were found in the surveyed insects. These are the same subtypes that dominate in humans and many other mammals, which makes their appearance in insects particularly intriguing. The three subtypes were isolated from bumblebees, lacewings, and houseflies, respectively, and the isolates obtained from these insects supported the molecular identification results, providing a morphological and culture-based confirmation that the DNA detections were not artifacts of the screening process.

The genetic diversity within the subtypes proved to be another important finding. When the team performed haplotype analysis and genetic distance calculations separately for each subtype, they found substantial intra-subtype genetic diversity for ST1. In practical terms, this means that the ST1 sequences recovered from insects were not all identical copies of a single strain; instead, they represented multiple genetic variants within the subtype. Such diversity could reflect multiple independent acquisition events, ongoing genetic variation within insect-associated populations, or a complex web of transmission between insects, vertebrates, and the environment. Distinguishing among these possibilities will require further sampling and more fine-grained genetic comparison.

To understand why this matters, it helps to recall what is known about Blastocystis. The organism is an anaerobic stramenopile, a member of a broad eukaryotic lineage rather than a true parasite in the classical sense, and it colonizes the intestinal tracts of a remarkable range of hosts. Its prevalence in human populations can be high, particularly in regions with close contact between people, livestock, and wildlife. Transmission is thought to occur through the fecal-oral route, via contaminated food and water, and the organism’s resistant cyst-like forms are believed to survive in the environment. Yet the details of how Blastocystis moves between hosts and persists outside the gut have been difficult to pin down, precisely because so little is known about which organisms besides vertebrates might carry it.

This is where the new survey fills a genuine gap. As the authors note, reports on the occurrence of Blastocystis in invertebrate taxa and its interactions with invertebrates have been limited, and this scarcity has greatly hindered the ecological characterization of the organism. By screening such a broad and systematic collection of invertebrates, the study provides the first large-scale picture of where Blastocystis DNA appears outside the vertebrate gut in this region. The finding that insects, and only insects among the surveyed groups, were repeatedly positive suggests that arthropods deserve a place in any model of Blastocystis transmission, whether as biological hosts, mechanical carriers, or environmental reservoirs.

The authors are careful about interpretation. Detecting DNA in an insect does not by itself prove that Blastocystis reproduces inside the insect or that the insect is a true host; the genetic material could reflect recent feeding on contaminated material, passage through the gut, or association with the insect’s surface or food stores. Nevertheless, the pattern of detections across insect orders with different diets and habitats, together with the successful isolation of the organism from bumblebees, lacewings, and houseflies, supports the possibility that insects may participate in the environmental transmission cycle of the parasite. Houseflies, for example, move freely between fecal matter and human food, and bumblebees and lacewings occupy ecological niches that bring them into contact with flowers, foliage, and soil-associated microorganisms.

The broader implication is a reframing of Blastocystis ecology. If insects routinely acquire and carry the organism, they could serve as vectors that shuttle subtypes between vertebrate hosts and environmental reservoirs, or as sentinel organisms whose screening reveals the presence of Blastocystis in a given habitat. The concentration of detections in insects with particular lifestyles, and the near absence of detections in soil and aquatic invertebrates, hints that specific ecological pathways, perhaps involving feeding on vertebrate feces, plant material, or other contaminated substrates, govern which insects encounter the parasite. Untangling those pathways is the obvious next step, and the authors argue that their findings contribute to a better understanding of the ecological niche of Blastocystis. For a microorganism that colonizes billions of people and countless animals, the discovery that the six-legged world may be part of its story is a reminder that even the most familiar gut microbes can hold ecological surprises when researchers look beyond their usual hosts.

Subject of Research: Molecular detection and subtype diversity of the intestinal protist Blastocystis sp. in insects and other invertebrates in China

Article Title: Molecular Detection of Blastocystis sp. in Insects and Other Invertebrates From China: Subtype Diversity and Potential Ecological Implications

Article References: Nan, H., Wang, N., Zhang, S., Yang, X., Li, H., Zhang, X., Wu, R., Wang, H., Yang, X., & Ma, L. (2026). Molecular Detection of Blastocystis sp. in Insects and Other Invertebrates From China: Subtype Diversity and Potential Ecological Implications. Microbial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-026-02894-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s00248-026-02894-0

Keywords: Blastocystis, insects, invertebrates, parasitology, molecular detection, subtypes, genetic diversity, Neuroptera, ecology, transmission, China, Microbial Ecology