Review of 2019 and 2020 - Lacewings (Neuroptera)

LACEWINGS (NEUROPTERA)

2019 was a phenomenal year for lacewings here with highlights of that year and 2020 including:

• Exceptionally high numbers of several species of green lacewing, especially Cunctochrysa albolineata
• My first garden record of Nothochrysa capitata
• An extraordinary record of 2 Nothochrysa fulviceps (on the same night as the capitata), a large and very distinctive species that had only been recorded in Norfolk once before, and rare nationally
• 3 x Coniopteryx esbenpeterseni (following the first for Norfolk here in 2018)
• 5 x Coniopteryx lentiae including the first for Norfolk
  
• 3 x Semidalis pseudouncinata (following the first for Norfolk here in 2017)
• My first Hemerobius pini
• The first Sympherobius pellucidus for Norfolk

I mainly use the FSC Aidgap key to identify these ("A key to the adults of British lacewings and their allies" by Colin Plant), and Paul Cobb (county recorder) did an excellent write up detailing the status of each species in Norfolk in the NNNS Transactions volume 49 (2016).

The lacewings section of this review covers 4 pages - if you want to look through them all then start here and follow the "Next page" links at the bottom of each page to move through.  Alternatively you can use the hyperlinks (orange text) below to jump straight to the families you're interested in.

• Chrysopidae (Green Lacewings):


• Chrysopa, Chrysoperla, Chrysopidia, Cunctochrysa, Dichochrysa and Nineta

Nineta vittata (left) and Chrysoperla carnea (right)

• Nothochrysa

Nothochrysa fulviceps - the second record for Norfolk

• Coniopterygidae (Waxflies)

Coniopteryx lentiae - one of five that included the first for Norfolk

• Hemerobiidae (Brown Lacewings)

Sympherobius pellucidus - the first for Norfolk

• Sisyridae (Spongeflies)

Sisyra fuscata

Scorpionflies, Alderflies and Snakeflies are often grouped with Lacewings but I've covered them separately as they're in different orders.  You can find my review of these (no Snakeflies I'm afraid) here.