Dendroleontini Banks, 1899

Badano, Davide & Pantaleoni, Roberto Antonio, 2014, The larvae of European Myrmeleontidae (Neuroptera), Zootaxa 3762 (1), pp. 1-71 : 16

Tribe Dendroleontini Banks, 1899

Diagnosis of 3 rd instar larva. Head capsule with small ocular tubercles; mandibles bent upward in most genera; apical tooth longer than the other teeth; labial palpi four-articulated, segments 2–4 longer than the basal width of the mandible. Mesothoracic spiracles not raised on tubercle. Most genera are characterized by the presence of a median tuft of setae on the mesonotum. Thoracic setiferous processes pedunculated; abdominal series of setiferous processes sessile in most genera. VIII abdominal sternite without odontoid processes; IX abdominal sternite longer than wide, without rastra or fossoria.

Biological notes. The larvae are ambush hunters able to move both forward and backward.

Comments. The larvae of Dendroleontini are poorly known and only few genera are sufficiently described. The members of this group often present peculiar specializations and extra-European taxa differ in the number of mandibular teeth, presence of mesothoracic tuft of setae and development of abdominal setiferous processes.