Mining the Species Diversity of Lacewings: New Species of the Pleasing Lacewing Genus Dilar Rambur, 1838 (Neuroptera, Dilaridae) from the Oriental Region

Abstract

The species diversity of insects is extraordinarily rich, but still has been insufficiently explored or underestimated particularly for uncommon groups. The pleasing lacewings (Dilaridae) are a little known family of Neuroptera with distinct sexually dimorphic antennae. The species diversity of pleasing lacewings was recently found to be severely underestimated and requires a comprehensive investigation, as well as systematic reviews. Here, we report on 12 new species of the pleasing lacewing genus Dilar Rambur, 1838, from the Oriental region, namely D. forcipatus sp. nov. and D. laoticus sp. nov. from Laos (new country record of Dilar); D. malickyi sp. nov., D. phraenus sp. nov. and D. rauschorum sp. nov. from northern Thailand; D. striatus sp. nov. from northern Vietnam; D. cangyuanensis sp. nov., D. daweishanensis sp. nov., D. nujianganus sp. nov., D. weibaoshanensis sp. nov., D. yucheni sp. nov., and D. zhangweiae sp. nov. from Yunnan and Tibet, both in southwestern China. The new species of Dilar display several types of wing marking patterns, and the morphology of the male genitalia is highly diverse. A comprehensive examination of the species diversity and distribution of Dilar concluded that Yunnan (southwestern China) represents a biogeographic region with high endemism and the richest species diversity. The potential correlation between vertical distribution and geographical latitude in Dilar was also analyzed.

Cephalic anatomy highlights morphological adaptation to underground habitats in a minute lacewing larva of Dilar (Dilaridae) and conflicting phylogenetic signal in Neuroptera

“…A distinct disproportion of gender is known in this family, with males apparently being much more common than females (Monserrat, 1977, 1988, 2005, 2014; Li et al. , 2021). The larvae of Dilar , Nallachius and Neonallachius were described previously.…”

“…, 2017; Li et al. , 2021). Nallachiinae contains two genera, Nallachius Navás, restricted to the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, and Neonallachius Nakahara, with a disjunct distribution in tropical Africa and Oriental Asia (Liu et al.…”

“…, 2017; Li et al. , 2021; Oswald, 2022). The adults can be easily distinguished from related groups by the sexually dimorphic antennae, filiform and slender in females, but with a pectinate or thickened flagellum in males.…”

Unexpected High Species Diversity of Mesolycus Gorham (Coleoptera, Lycidae) from China, with a Preliminary Investigation on Its Phylogenetic Position Based on Multiple Genes

“…On the world scale, the total species diversity of Mesolycus is highest in China, accounting for nearly a half of the total number. In southern China, there are vast mountainous areas and an usually rich spectrum of vegetation types, numerous geographical and ecological isolations [44], thereby accelerating the speciation of Mesolycus there.…”

Bibliometric Analyses of Web of Science Illuminate Research Advances of Neuropterida

“…Up to now, most of the related publications of Neuropterida focused on the research of classification and phylogeny as well as biological control [ 16 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. However, there are few reports on the development, history and overview of the research field of Neuropterida.…”