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Order
- NEUROPTERA
(Greek,
neuro = nerve; pteron = wing)
Common Names:
lacewings, antlions
Distribution:
Cosmopolitan
Description
The relatively few families of Neuroptera in North America look strikingly different from one another, but each family is small, homogeneous, and easily recognized. The most common ones are the green lacewings, brown lacewings, and antlion. The tiny duskywings and the peculiar spongillaflies are common in the right habitats, but are rarely noticed. The mantis-like mantiflies (parasitoids of spider egg cases), the owlflies (predators) and the beaded lacewings (termite predators) are progressively rarer, with the latter more southern in distribution.
