Ascalaphus Fabricius, 1775

Badano, Davide & Pantaleoni, Roberto Antonio, 2014, The Larvae of European Ascalaphidae (Neuroptera), Zootaxa 3796 (2), pp. 287-319 : 292-293

Ascalaphus Fabricius, 1775

Diagnosis. Dorsal side of the head capsule with a deep posterior incision, reaching the middle of the head; antennae thin, longer than the ocular tubercles; ocular tubercles large, wider than long; mandibles equipped with three teeth, the median tooth is the largest and closer to the apical tooth than to the basal tooth; mandibles with interdental pseudo-teeth; labial palpi four-articulated, segments 2–4 thin, slightly longer than the basal width of the mandible, last segment swollen; thoracic scolus-like processes cylindrical; mesothorax with two sub-equal pairs of processes; metathorax with a small anterior pair of scolus-like processes followed by a larger posterior pair; first pair of abdominal spiracles placed dorsally; abdomen with eight pairs of dorsal scolus-like processes, ventral series composed by two pairs of scolus-like processes on the first two anterior segments and six pairs of short tuberclelike processes on the following segments; VIII sternite with short odontoid processes bearing dolichasters; IX sternite with two short rastra each bearing three digging setae ( Fig. 2A ); body covered by black, bristle-like dolichasters ( Fig. 3A ).

Examined species. A. festivus Rambur, 1842 .

Comments. The complex taxonomy of the genus Ascalaphus is unsolved and the correct placement of the Oriental species remains uncertain. In the present sense Ascalaphus comprises over twenty species distributed in the Afrotropical, Western Palaearctic and Oriental regions. A. festivus has been recently reported for the European fauna ( Pantaleoni et al. 2013). The larvae of this genus are described here for the first time because the only existing account refers to an Indian species ( Ghosh 1913) which probably does not belong to this taxon ( New 2003). Michel (2001) described the eggs of an African species.

Figures

FIGURE 2. VIII and IX abdominal sternites of 3rd instar larva of Ascalaphidae. A, Ascalaphus festivus; B, Bubopsis agrionoides; C, Puer maculatus; D, Deleproctophylla australis; E, Libelloides macaronius. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Chaetotaxy of the VIII abdominal sternite of 3rd instar larva of Ascalaphidae. A, Ascalaphus festivus; B, Bubopsis agrionoides; C, Puer maculatus; D, Deleproctophylla australis; E, Libelloides longicornis. Scale bar: 100 µm.