Myrmeleon bore (Tjeder, 1941)

Petersen, Nicholas Hüsig, Nielsen, Ole Fogh & Vilhelmsen, Lars, 2022, Presence of populations of antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) in Denmark correlates with presence of aeolian sand, Journal of Natural History 55 (45 - 46), pp. 2831-2847 : 2837-2838

Myrmeleon bore (Tjeder, 1941)

The imago of M. bore has a forewing length of 25–33 mm ( Figure 3 (c)). The wings are narrower than those of M. formicarius , which M. bore is easily confused with. Just like M. formicarius , M. bore also has bright spots on the pronotum, however, they are less distinct and might be completely absent. Adult males of M. bore has a small club-like organ called the Eltringham’s organ at the posterior margin of the hindwings, which helps distributing pheromones ( Figure 3 (d)) ( Elofsson and Löfqvist 1974; Lipovsek Delakorda et al. 2009; Nielsen 2015; Zhang et al. 2015).

The larva is greyish to pale brown, the ventral side of the head is pale and with a pair of dark spots. The labial palp is three-segmented, and the hind legs are without dark spots. The distal half of the 8th abdominal sternite segment is similar to M. formicarius , being covered by only short, black spines and without setae ( Friheden 1973; Badano and Pantaleoni 2014).

Figures

Figure 3. Myrmeleon spp., adults (NHMD). Scales = 1 cm. a, b). Myrmeleon formicarius (Linnaeus, 1767). c, d). Myrmeleon bore (Tjeder, 1941), male. Red arrow = bright spot on pronotum. Green arrow = Eltringham’s organ.