Osmylidae is a small family of Neuroptera with a worldwide distribution. Only four subfamilies and five genera of Osmylidae have been reported to date for the Neotropical region, with a total of 16 species, whilst 200 species are known in the world. In this study three new species are described-Isostenosmylus bifurcatus n. sp., I. irroratus n. sp. and I. julianae n. sp. Moreover, species of Gumilla Navás, 1912 and Paryphosmylus Krüger, 1913 are redescribed; additionally one larva of Isostenosmylus sp. and the female of Isostenosmylus fasciatus Kimmins, 1940 are described. Images of type specimens of Neotropical species of Osmylidae are provided. New records of known species are reported and a distribution map is presented. An updated checklist and a key for Neotropical species of Osmylidae are provided.

This study revises the Mantispidae of Colombia. 151 adult specimens of 12 entomological museums of Colombia were examined and identified. On the basis of the specimens studied and a comprehensive literature search, it is determined that 20 nominal species (including two doubtful records) plus four proposed as new to science, in ten genera (Anchieta, Plega, Trichoscelia, Gerstaeckerella, Buyda, Climaciella, Dicromantispa, Entanoneura, Leptomantispa, and Zeugomantispa) and, three subfamilies (Symphrasinae, Drepanicinae, and Mantispinae) occur in Colombia. In addition, A. eurydella (Westwood), C. amapaensis Penny and P. fasciatella (Westwood) are redescribed, providing complementary information to the original descriptions. A list of Colombian Mantispidae, distribution maps and taxonomic keys to subfamilies, genera and species are included. Illustrations of the external morphology and male genitalia are provided for selected species. The taxonomic status of P. hagenella (Westwood) is discussed, and its diagnostic characters are redefined. Anchieta remipes (Gerstaecker) is newly transferred to this genus from Trichoscelia.

Adult external morphology of the extant raptorial Mantispoidea (Insecta: Neuroptera: Mantispidae and Rhachiberothidae) is compared emphasizing the morphology of the subfamily Symphrasinae as a key group to understand the phylogenetic relationships among the members of the superfamily. Plega dactylota Rehn, 1939 is thoroughly characterized in order to exemplify the morphology of the Symphrasinae. Additionally, following a review of the literature and examination of comparative material of Dilaridae, Berothidae, Rhachiberothidae and all Mantispidae subfamilies, a new interpretation of the components of the raptorial apparatus (i.e., head, prothorax, grasping forelegs, as well as integumentary specializations) is presented. Also, wing venation for these groups is reinterpreted, and new homology hypotheses for wing venation are proposed based on tracheation and comparative analyses. Given the high morphological divergence on the genital sclerites within the Mantispoidea, plus the confusing previous usage of neutral terminology and terms referring to appendages across taxonomic and morphological studies, we attempt to standardize, simplify, and situate terminology in an evolutionary context under the “gonocoxite concept” (multi-coxopod hypothesis). The remarkable morphological similarity of the genital sclerites of Symphrasinae and Rhachiberothidae (sensu U. Aspöck & Mansell 1994) with the Nallachinae (Dilaridae) was taken as a starting point to understand the morphology of other Mantispidae subfamilies. Based on these morphological comparisons, we provide a revised phylogenetic analysis of Mantispoidea. This new phylogenetic analysis supports a sister group relationship between the family Rhachiberothidae, comprising Rhachiberothinae and Symphrasinae, and the family Mantispidae, including the subfamily Mantispinae and its sister taxa Drepanicinae and Calomantispinae, which may represent a single subfamily. Based on these analyses, raptorial condition probably evolved a single time in these insects and subsequently became diversified in the two sister clades of the raptorial Mantispoidea.

The Neotropical fauna of Mantispidae is currently composed of 106 species. We provide new distributional records of Mantispidae from Colombia and Panama. Three new species are described, one in Symphrasinae from Colombia, and two in Mantispinae from Colombia and Panama. Haematomantispa nubeculosa (Navás, 1933) and Leptomantispa axillaris (Navás, 1908) are reported from Colombia for the first time, the former being the first record of the genus in the country. New locality records for other species previously known from Colombia are also given. For Panama, we report Anchieta fasciatella (Westwood, 1867) and Trichoscelia iridella (Westwood, 1867) for the first time, the former is herein newly transferred from Plega to Anchieta. Three names Mantispa confluens Navás, 1914, n. syn., Buyda apicata Navás, 1926, n. syn., and Mantispa neotropica Navás, 1933, n. syn., are here synonymized with Buyda phthisica (Gerstaecker, 1885). Updated keys for the genera of Mantispinae, and species of genera Trichoscelia, Buyda, and Climaciella from Colombia are included. With this new information, the known species richness of Mantispidae from Colombia increases from 21 to 26, and from 16 to 19 species in Panama.

The genera Ameropterus Esben-Petersen, 1922 and Fillus Navás, 1919 are recorded from Colombia for the first time. New distributional records for two Cordulecerus Rambur, 1842 species are also presented. Ameropterus dissimilis (McLachlan, 1871) and Ameropterus scutellaris (Gerstaecker, 1894) are redescribed and illustrated, and Ameropterus mexicanus (Van der Weele, 1909) is here proposed as a junior synonym of the latter. The taxonomic status of Nephelasca crocea Navás, 1914 is discussed. Keys to the Colombian species of Ameropterus and Cordulecerus and a list of the split-eyed Ascalaphinae species of the New World are also given.

No abstract

Megaloptera belong to a large monophyletic group, the Neuropteroidea, together with Coleoptera, Strepsiptera, Raphidioptera, and Neuroptera. With the latter two, this order constitutes the Neuropterida, a smaller monophyletic subset among which it is the only entirely aquatic group, with larvae of all species requiring submersion in freshwater. Megaloptera is arguably the oldest extant clade of Holometabola with aquatic representatives, having originated during the Permian before the fragmentation of Pangea, since about 230 Ma. It includes 54 genera (35 extant and 19 extinct genera), with 397 extant described species and subspecies. Recent Megaloptera are divided into two families: Corydalidae (with subfamilies Corydalinae—dobsonflies and Chauliodinae—fishflies) and Sialidae (alderflies), both widely yet disjunctively distributed among zoogeographical realms. All species of Megaloptera have aquatic larvae, whereas eggs, pupae, and adults are terrestrial. The anatomy, physiology, and behavior of megalopteran larvae are specialized for an aquatic predatory habit, yet their ecological significance might still be underappreciated, as their role in food webs of benthic communities of many temperate and tropical streams and rivers is still understudied and largely unquantified. In many freshwater ecosystems, Megaloptera larvae are a conspicuous benthic component, important in energy flow, recycling of materials, and food web dynamics.

The family Osmylidae is recorded for the first time in Colombia, extending its known distribution range to the north of South America in the northern Andes. Two new species of the genus Isostenosmylus Krüger, 1913, I. contrerasi n. sp. and I. septemtrionalandinus n. sp. and one morphospecies distributed along the eastern cordillera in the departments of Cundinamarca, Huila, and Norte de Santander are described and illustrated. A key to species of the genus Isostenosmylus, as well as a list of South American species of Osmylidae is included.