Hemerobiidae

:"Hemerobioidea" redirects here. Numerous lacewing families were formerly included there but now are placed elsewhere; see text for details."__NOTOC__Taxobox
name = Brown lacewings
fossil_range=Jurassic - Recent

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Micromus variegatus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Hexapoda
classis = Insecta
subclassis = Pterygota
infraclassis = Neoptera
superordo = Endopterygota or Neuropterida
ordo = Neuroptera
subordo = Hemerobiiformia
superfamilia = Hemerobioidea
superfamilia_authority =
familia = Hemerobiidae
familia_authority =
subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
subdivision =
Hemerobiinae

Notiobiellinae

Sympherobiinae
and see text
synonyms =Promegalomidae

Hemerobiidae is a family of Neuropteran insects commonly known as brown lacewings. These insects differ from the somewhat similar Chrysopidae (green lacewings) not only by the usual colouring but by the wing venation: hemerobiids having numerous long veins lacking in chrysopids. Some of the costal cross veins are forked, unlike in green lacewings.

Hemerobiids, like chrysopids, are predatory, especially on aphids, both as larvae and adults. Hemerobiid larvae are usually less hairy than chrysopid larvae.

ystematics

Despite their superficial similarity to chrysopids, the brown and green lacewings are not as closely related as was at one time believed. Rather, the Hemerobiidae are closely related to the dustywings and spongillaflies, as well as to the large superfamily Mantispoidea.See references in Haaramo (2008)]

The superfamily Hemerobioidea is nowadays restricted to the Hemerobiidae. Formerly, the pleasing lacewings (Dilaridae), silky lacewings (Psychopsidae), giant lacewings (Polystoechotidae) and as noted above the green lacewings (Chrysopidae) were placed therein too. Of these, only the first seem to be reasonably close relatives of the brown lacewings. The silky lacewings in fact seem to belong to an altogether different suborder of Neuroptera, the Myrmeleontiformia.

Apart from the genera assigned to subfamilies, there are some of uncertain or fairly basal position:
* "Drepanepteryx" (or "Drepanopteryx" Leach, 1815)
* "Megalomus" Rambur, 1842
* "Micromus" Rambur, 1842
* "Psectra" Hagen, 1866
* "Wesmaelius" Krüger, 1922

Numerous fossil Hemerobiidae have been described, some from the still-living genera, others from genera that are entirely extinct today. While most have been found in Eocene to Miocene rocks or amber, "Promegalomus" is known from the Jurassic. It was formerly considered to constitute a distinct family Promegalomidae, but is nowadays recognized as a very basal member of the Hemerobiidae. The Cretaceous "Mesohemerobius" was formerly considered a brown lacewing, but is today rather placed as "incertae sedis" in the Neuroptera; it might be a member of the Hemerobioidea but not even that is certain. Notable fossil Hemerobiidae genera are:Engel & Grimaldi (2007)]
* "Bothromicromus"
* "Cretomerobius"
* "Hemerobites"
* "Prochlanius"
* "Promegalomus"
* "Prophlebonema"
* "Prospadobius"None of these appear to belong to a living subfamily.

Some additional brown lacewing larvae have been found as fossils, but it has been impossible to determine their generic or subfamilial association.

Footnotes

References

* (1986): "Collins Guide to the Insects of Britain and Western Europe".
* (2007): The neuropterid fauna of Dominican and Mexican amber (Neuropterida, Megaloptera, Neuroptera). "American Museum Novitates" 3587: 1-58. [http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5880/1/N3587.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (2008): Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: [http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/protostoma/arthropoda/insecta/neuropterida/neuroptera.html Neuroptera] . Version of 2008-MAR-11. Retrieved 2008-APR-27.

External links

* [http://www.biolib.cz/en/taxontree/id16852 BioLib Taxonomic tree of Hemerobiidae (incomplete)]
* [http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/beneficial/brown_lacewings.htm brown lacewings of Florida] on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site