Generic Characteristics of <I>Chrysopodes</I> (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), with New Larval Descriptions and a Review of Species from the United States and Canada

Abstract

Many of the adult features that are considered diagnostic for Chrysopodes occur in other New World chrysopid genera; a stable and phylogenetically significant generic classification requires additional definitive characters. The current study demonstrates a number of morphological characters in the larvae that provide strong evidence for the validity of the genus and also provide a foundation for broadening and refining the definition of the genus. For example, the absence of a gonapsis no longer serves as a diagnostic character for Chrysopodes. Moreover, based primarily on larval characteristics but also on adult features, the widely distributed Nearctic species Ceraeochrysa placita (Banks) is now transferred to Chrysopodes. Finally, the manuscript reviews the systematics of the two Chrysopodes species reported from the United States; the adults are characterized and illustrated, the larvae are described, and biological data are presented.