Alternative title: Neuroptera

Neuropteran (order Neuroptera), green lacewing [Credit: Pollinator]green lacewingPollinatorany of a group of insects commonly called lacewings because of the complex vein patterns in the wings, giving them a lacy appearance. In a strict sense, the order Neuroptera includes only the lacewings. However, two other closely related insect groups are frequently included in classification schemes as neuropterans. These are the snakeflies (Raphidiodea), so called for their body shape, and the dobsonflies and alderflies (Megaloptera). For completeness of discussion, all three groups are described in this article, but they are considered to be three separate orders.

General features

alderfly [Credit: N.A. Callow—NHPA/EB Inc.]alderflyN.A. Callow—NHPA/EB Inc.All three orders may have evolved from an early mecopteran (scorpionfly) ancestral stem, prior to the Trichoptera–Lepidoptera offshoot. Carnivorous insects of varied structure and habit, both freshwater and terrestrial members of the three orders, are widely distributed with the exception of the snakeflies (which are confined to the Northern Hemisphere). Many members are important in the biological control of other insects and mite pests. Some are “flies” of interest to anglers. Some of the most elegant and dainty insects are lacewings. There are more than 500 species of alderflies and dobsonflies, 80 species of snakeflies, and 4,000 species of lacewings.

The size of lacewings varies from 1.5 to more than 35 mm (0.059 to more than 1.377 inches) in length and 2 to more than 50 mm in anterior wing length. Lacewings are characterized by their many-veined wings and appear delicate, whereas dobsonflies and alderflies, while similar in general appearance, have wings that appear heavier than those of lacewings. Most species in these groups are 15 to 30 mm in body length, with anterior wing length varying from 20 to more than 50 mm. Snakeflies are of medium size, 10 mm or more in body and anterior wing length, with wings similar to those of lacewings.

The Megaloptera and Raphidiodea differ from the Neuroptera in that adults have prognathous (directed forward) mouthparts and biting larval mandibles. Neuropteran adults have hypognathous (directed downward) mouthparts and unique piercing–sucking larval jaws composed of the mandibles (directed downward) plus maxillae.

Natural history

Life cycle of Neuroptera

brown lacewing life cycle [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]brown lacewing life cycleEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Neuropteran eggs may be laid loosely in light soil, cemented directly to a surface, or cemented on the end of a stalk produced by glands in the female’s reproductive system. During the cementing process, the female places the tip of the abdomen on a surface and begins to exude a viscid fluid. She then raises her abdomen slowly to draw the fluid into a slender filament. The fluid rapidly hardens, and the egg is attached by its posterior end to the top of the stalk.

Larvae hatch after 5–14 days unless the egg is in the overwintering stage. In some families a thickened portion of cuticle is used by the larva to break the egg, whereas in others the egg simply splits. There are generally three larval stages in Neuroptera. The first lasts a few days, the second a few days or for the winter months, while the third varies, depending on the species, from weeks to months.

Neuropteran larvae are carnivorous and free-living with the exception of the aquatic family Sisyridae, which has larvae that are parasitic on freshwater sponges. Typically, a neuropteran larva sucks out the contents of its prey, leaving only a hollow skin. Although many lacewing larvae are nocturnal and need no camouflage, other species carry debris on bodies adapted for this purpose. In one family debris floats onto the hairs and is caught, while in another the larva takes debris in its jaws and places it on its back. In still another family larvae lie lightly covered in the soil. The larvae of antlions dig conical pits in light, dry soil or sand. They vigorously throw out soil with their heads, then lie in the pit, body covered and jaws ready to grasp an ant or any other prey that may fall in. Should a captive attempt to escape by climbing a pit wall, the antlion will use its head to toss soil at it, causing the prey to fall back into the pit.

The neuropteran larva spins a double cocoon by exuding whitish or yellowish silk through its anus. First, a loosely woven cocoon is spun and fastened to a surface. Then the larva spins a second tightly woven cocoon inside the first. This double construction is typical of neuropterans. The walls of the two cocoons may be closely spaced or apart, depending on the species. The larva may spend the prepupal stage of several days or months within the cocoon before the pupal molt occurs. The limbs of the pupa are free (exarate). In a few species the pupa bursts from the cocoon, but most species use their functional mandibles to chew an exit hole. Adults appear either as the pupa leaves the cocoon or after it has reached a suitable position. Some species have two or more broods a year, although the life cycle does not exceed 12 months. Mating may occur anytime during the lifespan of the adult female, and in some species she retains fertilized eggs in her body until weather conditions are suitable.

Life cycles of Megaloptera and Raphidiodea

Megalopteran females lay eggs above water level in masses of 3,000 or more. Larvae crawl into the water where they are very active. Commonly, alderfly larvae are associated with muddy bottoms of ponds and slow-moving streams, whereas dobsonfly larvae inhabit fast-flowing streams or rivers. The larvae are predaceous, usually nocturnal, and may leave the water to search for prey or to molt. Before pupation the larvae leave the water to form cells in damp, coarse soil beneath stones or debris. The pupa crawls from its earthen cell before the adult emerges. Raphidiodean females use slender ovipositors to lay eggs in the cracks of tree bark, and immature stages are found there.

Usually mating occurs at night. Sperm are passed either directly as spermatozoa or in a spermatophore that may project from the female after mating and be either wholly or partially eaten by her. While megalopterans lay eggs in masses of several thousands, raphidiodeans lay them singly, and neuropterans lay 600 or 700 singly, separately in groups, or in batches.


All of the larvae and adults are carnivorous and predaceous (except the parasitic Sisyridae), devouring enormous numbers of mites, insect eggs and larvae, ants, thysanopterans, psocopterans, and homopterans. For example, chrysopids consume large numbers of aphids and are a potent natural control mechanism. Larval feeding is continuous except during molts. Adults may also feed on dead insects, and females may feed on their own eggs and on spermatophores. The neuropteran family Sisyridae may have evolved from the closely related family Osmylidae whose larvae probe streamside mosses for prey.

Megalopteran larvae, a source of food for freshwater fish, are used as bait by anglers. Spiders capture both adults and terrestrial larvae in their webs. Neuropteran eggs and larvae are preyed upon by other neuropterans, other predaceous insects (e.g., coccinellid, or ladybird beetle, larvae, ants), birds, and bats.

Form and function


mantispid [Credit: E.S. Ross]mantispidE.S. RossAntennae are multisegmented in neuropterans and filiform in Megaloptera and Raphidiodea. The head is squarish or transverse in Megaloptera and Neuroptera and elongated in Raphidiodea. Prognathous (mouthparts directed anteriorly) heads are typical of Megaloptera and Raphidiodea, whereas hypognathous (mouthparts directed ventrally) heads are typical of Neuroptera. The four wings are similar in size and may be large or elongated. In all species, wings are translucent, contain many veins and crossveins, and are sometimes coloured in brown or green shades. The ten-segmented abdomen lacks appendages (cerci), although terminal claspers may occur. In both sexes, the last abdominal segment may be reduced, modified, or bear a pair of dorso-lateral groups of trichobothria (short, stiff sensory bristles). In females, abdominal terminalia are also variable. Only the raphidiodean females have a long, thin ovipositor.

Immature stages

The larval head is prognathous in all three groups. It may bear as many as seven simple eyes on each side or none. Megalopteran larvae have large mandibles, whereas raphidiodean larvae have small mandibles. The larval jaws are the outstanding feature of neuropterans and may be short or long, straight or curved. In all neuropteran species each jaw is a sucking tube, created by the mandible above and maxilla below, with the two fitting together but separable. Since there is no true mouth, liquid food is sucked by a pharyngeal pump through the jaws directly into the pharynx. The aquatic megalopteran larvae have lateral gill filaments and either a median caudal filament or anal prolegs. Raphidiodea larvae lack abdominal processes. The terminal abdominal segments of neuropterans are modified into an anal proleg, with or without processes, which also functions as a spinneret, an organ for producing silk from internal glands. In several families the abdomen has special hairs or bristles (macrotrichia) for holding debris for camouflage.

Some pupae resemble adults, particularly in the snakeflies. The hooks or ridges, aligned both forward and backward and evident on the dorsum of the abdomen of some pupae, may be used to maintain a position within the cocoon rather than to escape from it. Mandibles and limbs are often used to aid in exiting the cocoon.


Most larvae have walking legs except in those whose legs are modified for burrowing (Ithonidae and Myrmeleontoidea). The aquatic dobsonfly larvae have a pair of terminal abdominal prolegs that are important in moving in strong currents. The legs, abdominal filaments, and median tail filament of alderfly larvae bear long hairs, or setae, which help to propel them through their slow-moving water habitats. Snakefly larvae wriggle rapidly backwards to escape danger. Most neuropteran larvae have the tenth abdominal segment modified into a single anal foot for use in locomotion, while a pair of hooked processes assist in holding to the substrate. Members of all three groups are typically weak fliers.

Evolution and paleontology

The closely related dobsonflies, alderflies, and snakeflies may have arisen from a common stem that diverged from the ancestral mecopteran (scorpionflies) stem early in the Carboniferous Period (359 million to 299 million years ago). The Neuroptera may have diverged from the ancestral mecopteran stem later in the Carboniferous.

Fossil representatives of the modern families Sialidae and Corydalidae are represented in the Oligocene Baltic amber (formed about 34 million to 23 million years ago). The present-day Raphidiidae are represented in the Oligocene Baltic amber. The present-day neuropteran family Psychopsidae existed as early as the Triassic Period (about 251 million to 200 million years ago) in Australia. The present-day neuropteran families Coniopterygidae, Osmylidae, Sisyridae, Hemerobiidae, Chrysopidae, and Myrmeleontidae first occurred in the Oligocene Baltic amber. The Ascalaphidae first appeared in the lower Miocene of France (about 23 million years ago), and the Nemopteridae first occurred in the Miocene of Colorado.


Distinguishing taxonomic features

The adults of the orders Megaloptera, Raphidiodea, and Neuroptera have similar mouthparts, wings, and genitalia but differ in the shape of the head and thorax. The presence of simple eyes (ocelli) and the morphology of antennae, head, wings (including venation), legs, and body, are criteria used to distinguish families.

Larval characters associated with the aquatic habit, such as abdominal filaments, separate Megaloptera and Sisyridae (Neuroptera) from terrestrial Neuroptera and arboreal Raphidiodea. The normal mandibles of Megaloptera and Raphidiodea separate these groups from Neuroptera, whose jaws are combined mandibles and maxillae. The form of the head, neck, mouthparts, legs, and body are used to separate neuropteran families.

Annotated classification

Order Megaloptera
Adults medium to large; head prognathous; biting mouthparts; antennae threadlike (or filiform); 2 pairs of large, similar wings, held rooflike or nearly flat over abdomen in repose. Larvae elongated; biting mandibles; lateral abdominal gill filaments present; aquatic.
Family Sialidae (alderflies)
Wing expanse 20–40 mm; simple eyes (ocelli) absent; 4th tarsal joint of lower leg dilated and bilobed. Larvae with 7 pairs of lateral, segmented, abdominal filaments, median caudal filament; larvae without anal prolegs.
Family Corydalidae (dobsonflies)
Wing expanse 40–100 mm; 3 ocelli; 4th tarsal joint cylindrical; male mandibles sometimes enlarged. Larvae (called hellgrammites) with 8 pairs of unsegmented or imperfectly segmented, lateral, abdominal filaments; terminal filament absent; 2 anal prolegs.
Order Raphidiodea (snakeflies)
Adults small to medium; head prognathous, elongated, tapering posteriorly; biting mouthparts; antennae filiform; prothorax elongated, cylindrical; 2 pairs of similar elongated wings, held rooflike over abdomen in repose; female with long, slender ovipositor. Larvae elongated; head and prothorax large, polished; biting mandibles; abdominal filaments and prolegs absent; arboreal.
Family Raphidiidae
Three ocelli; antennal joints smaller at bases.
Family Inocellidae
Ocelli absent; antennal joints cylindrical.
Order Neuroptera (lacewings)
Adults small to large; head hypognathous; biting mouthparts; antennae varied; 2 pairs of similar wings, held rooflike over abdomen in repose. Larvae elongated or broad; piercing–sucking jaws, elongated mandibles above, elongated maxillae below, form a hollow tube; abdominal filaments absent, except aquatic Sisyridae: paired abdominal prolegs absent; 10th abdominal segment modified as an anal proleg and/or spinneret.
Superfamily Ithonoidea
Adults large, mothlike; larvae with straight jaws, modified for subterranean predatory feeding.
Family Ithonidae (moth lacewings)
Adult wing expanse 30–79 mm; head small, closely set on prothorax; antennae long, filiform; costal areas of wings not broad. Larvae burrowing; legs adapted for digging, tibia fused to tarsus; mouthparts short, straight; maxillae enlarged.
Superfamily Hemeroboidea
Adults small to large; antennae filiform or moniliform (beadlike); posterior wings shorter than anterior; elongated larvae with jaws straight or curved.
Family Hemerobiidae (brown lacewings)
Adults small; antennae long, moniliform; ocelli absent; wings with few crossveins, hairy; female without projecting ovipositor. Larvae (called aphis wolves) elongated, with short incurved jaws; body smooth, fine hairs; free-living on vegetation.
Family Sympherobiidae (brown lacewings)
Adults small, closely related to Hemerobiidae. Larvae spindle-shaped; head small; antennae short; jaws short, stout, slightly incurved.
Family Dilaridae (pleasing lacewings)
Small; antennae of male coarsely comb-shaped; head with 3 ocelli or ocellus-like tubercles; wings with numerous crossveins.
Family Psychopsidae (silky lacewings)
Adults large mothlike species; antennae short, wings broad. Larvae elongated, flat; head broad posteriorly, closely attached to prothorax; jaws incurved, large, sicklelike; often arboreal, under bark.
Family Osmylidae (osmylidflies)
Adults medium to large; head wider than long; antennae filiform, short; 3 ocelli; wings often with brown markings; claws with many teeth. Larvae elongated; long, slender, straight jaws, slightly upcurved; in margins of fresh water.
Family Polystoechotidae (large lacewings)
Adults medium to large; wing expanse 40–75 mm; antennae short. Larvae with short, sharp, incurved mandibles, maxillae stout, blunt; labial palpi, sensory appendages on labium (lower lip); leg 5-jointed; tarsal claws simple, slightly curved; knobbed structures (called empodia) between terminal elongated claws.
Family Sisyridae (spongillaflies)
Adults small, brownish, closely related to Osmylidae; ocelli absent. Larvae moderately elongated; hairy; antennae long, bristle-like; mandibles and maxillae elongated, with bristle-like piercing structures; labial palpi absent; 1 tarsal claw per leg; aquatic; parasitic on freshwater sponges.
Family Chrysopidae (green lacewings, stinkflies)
Adults small to medium, yellowish, green, or gray, sometimes with markings; wing expanse 31–65 mm; head small, antennae long, filiform; iridescent golden eyes. Larvae (called aphid lions) moderately elongated, broad; long, sharp, incurved jaws; hairy; legs with long, trumpet-shaped empodium between claws; many with dorsal lumps on body, carry packets of debris dorsally; found on vegetation.
Family Apochrysidae (fragile lacewings)
Fragile, closely related to Chrysopidae; antennae filiform.
Family Berothidae (beaded lacewings)
Small, slender; antennae long, filiform; wings hairy, sometimes with seedlike scales; larvae thysanuriform, with short, straight jaws.
Family Trichomatidae
Small, slender, closely related to Berothidae; wings and body with long hairs.
Family Mantispidae (mantispids)
Adults small to large; wing expanse 10–55 mm; antennae short; prothorax greatly elongated; wings narrow; forelegs predatory. Larvae have 2 forms; 1st stage with squarish head; antennae with 3–5 joints; short, straight jaws; labial palpi with 3 or 7 joints; legs with 2 claws and empodium; active hunters; in presence of food reserves, larvae become white, parasitic grubs with small heads and atrophied legs.
Superfamily Nemopteroidea
Adults highly specialized, related to Myrmeleontoidea; head prolonged in rostrum; posterior wings narrowed, elongated to twice anterior wing length. Larvae short, broad; with incurved jaws; varied in form, distinct from other neuropterans.
Family Nemopteridae (thread-winged or spoon-winged lacewings)
Adults delicate; head snoutlike; antennae short; posterior wings greatly elongated, ribbonlike or threadlike; often expanded distally to appear spoonlike. Larval antennae long, filiform; jaws incurved; mandibles with or without internal teeth; with or without an elongated neck formed by anterior portion of prothorax; if present, neck may be thin, cylindrical, 3 times length of head; remainder of thorax and abdomen broad, flattened; legs long, with 2 curved claws, empodium absent; free-living in dust, some cave-dwelling.
Superfamily Myrmeleontoidea
Adults medium to large in size; antennae varied. Larvae short, broad; jaws incurved; mandibles with inner teeth.
Family Myiodactylidae
Adults resemble Osmylidae; antennae long, cylindrical.
Family Nymphidae (slender lacewings)
Adults slender; long, cylindrical antennae; wings long, slender. Larval neck slender; jaws incurved, mandibles with single internal tooth near midway.
Family Myrmeleontidae (antlions)
Adults with long, slender wings; bodies partly covered with fine hairs; dragonfly-like; antennae short, weakly clubbed or flattened distally. Larvae (called antlions or doodle bugs) short and broad; head small; neck bent to allow rapid upward and backward movement of head; mandibles strong, incurved; 3 internal teeth; posterior legs modified for backward burrowing, tibia fused to tarsus; abdomen hairy, plump, modified posteriorly for backward burrowing; lie in soil surface or at bottom of a self-made pit.
Family Stilbopterygidae (shiny wings)
Adults large, swift fliers; shining wings and bodies; dragonfly-like; antennae short, strongly clubbed; eyes large. Larvae large, black, shiny; found in vegetable refuse.
Family Ascalaphidae (owlflies)
Adults large, dragonfly-like species, 40–50 mm in length; some rapid fliers; antennae long, slender, strongly clavate distally; eyes large, divided; head with long, fine hairs. Larval head squarish; mandibles elongated; 1 or several inner teeth; neck short, narrow; posterior legs with tibia fused to tarsus; body fringed.
Superfamily Coniopterygoidea
Tiny, somewhat separated from other Neuroptera; body, wings covered with white waxy powder; larvae straight-jawed; labrum large, covering the other mouthparts.
Family Coniopterygidae (dustywings)
Adult wing expanse 3–10 mm; antennae long, filiform; wings similar or posterior wings reduced; wing venation reduced. Larvae, 5 simple eyes each side; 5-jointed antennae; jaws short or long, needlelike; legs with padlike empodium.

Critical appraisal

Standard English and American systems differ in their classification of Megaloptera and Raphidiodea as distinct orders.

The standard English classification is order Neuroptera, suborder Megaloptera, superfamily Sialoidea, family Corydalidae, family Sialidae, superfamily Raphidiodea, family Raphidiidae, and suborder Planipennia (true Neuroptera). In other systems, the suborder Megaloptera is termed suborder Sialodea, the combination Raphidioptera is used for Raphidiodea, and the name Neuroptera is used for a superorder containing the orders Megaloptera, Raphidioptera, Planipennia. The modern tendency is to separate the three main groups in the separate orders Megaloptera, Raphidiodea (or Raphidioptera), and Neuroptera (Planipennia), as in the classification above.

Although larvae of most families have been described, further breeding and detailed studies of life histories and morphology of immature and adult forms are required.

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