LIBRARY

NEUROPTERA 379
cat a (Fab.), S. dahlii McL., S. terminalis Curtis, and S. jutlandica E. Petersen.
S. brunneus Banks is the best known species in Australia, S. nikkoana Navas
in Japan, and S. vicaria Walker in North America. It is well to call attention to
the fact that these insects are nowhere very abundant and are therefore rarely
met with either in insect collections or in books.
Family OSMYLIDJE Brauer 1868 (Os-rny'li-d;;e, from the Greek oO'JJ,-q, a smell
or odor; referring perhaps to odors of some species). Osmylid Flies.
Medium to large, slender, beautiful species with marked wings. The fore
wings are somewhat. larger than the hind wings, the discal areas have very
many cross veins, and the marginal area is without cross veins but with many
forked veinlets. The head is wider than long, the antennre filiform and shorter
than the wings; three ocelli near the frons; the claws many toothed (four or five
or 10-12). The body and legs are clothed with a few long hairs. It comprises
a widespread group of about 20 genera and 50 species which do not occur in North
America, but are known in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia.
The most important genera are Osmylus Latr., Spilosmylus Kolbe, Kalosmylus
Kriiger, Rhipidosmylus Kruger, and Stenosmylus McLachlan.
Osmylus chrysops (Linn.) with a wing expanse of 37-52 mm. is the largest
neuropteran in Great Britain. The larVa! are long, slender, and dark, live under
stones, leaves, moss, and debris near the water, and have long, nearly straight,
needle"like mandibles and maxillre. They feed upon maggots and on larvre of
other insects living in their habitat. Pupation occurs in a soft cocoon. Their
elongate"oval eggs ate laid near the water.
CUmacia areotaris Hagen of the Canary Islands has a wing expanse of only
7mm.
Family HEMEROBIIDlE Westwood, 1840 (Hem'er-o-bi'i"dre, from the Greek
TJMEprJ., day, + /3Lo" life; meaning living [or a day, a false conception
concerning the true biology of these insects). German, BlattlauslOwen.
French, Hemerobiides. Hemerobiids, Brown Lacewings, Aphis Wolves.
These small lacewings are usually brownish, and often with golden and other
iridescent colors; ocelli absent; antennre long and moniliform; wings similar,
sometimes with irregular margins at tips, brown, hairy, with many small cells,
the costal area being crossed by many numerous branched veinlets, and without
a pterostigma. The adults are fragile in appearance, slow,crawling, and llave an
erratic flight. They occur on nearly all types of vegetation and are often taken
at lights by night.
The eggs are regularly elongate-oval and 0.5-1.0 mm. long, the surface
smooth, pitted, or pebbled and with micropylar knob. They are deposited
singly or in groups, attached by their sides.
The larvre are similar to those of the CHRYSOPIDiE but are smooth, without
tubercles, and have only fine hairs. The mandibles and maxillre are curved
but short. There are two claws and, in the first instar only, a trumpet-shaped