The crane fly Limonia phragmitidis belongs to family Limoniidae. The mitogenome of L. phragmitidis was sequenced, the new representative of the mitogenome of the family Limoniidae. The nearly complete mitogenome is 16,020 bp totally, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, and 22 transfer RNAs. All genes have similar locations and strands with that of other published species of Limoniidae. The nucleotide composition biases toward A and T, which together made up 75.5％ of the entirety. Bayesian inference analysis strongly supported the monophyly of Tipuloidea. It suggested that the phylogenetic relationship within Tipuloidea, Pediciidae þ (Limoniidae þ (Tipulidae þ Cylindrotomidae)).

Rapisma McLachlan, 1866 (Neuroptera: Ithonidae) is a rarely encountered genus of lacewings found inmontane tropical or subtropical forests in Oriental Asia. In Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibet) of China there are two sympatrically distributed species of Rapisma, i.e. Rapisma xizangense Yang, 1993 and Rapisma zayuanum Yang, 1993, in which R. xizangense is only known as male and has dull brownish body and wing coloration, while R. zayuanum is only known as female and has bright green body and wing coloration. In order to clarify the relationship between these two species, we determined the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of R. xizangense and R. zayuanum for the first time. The mt genomes are 15,961 and 15,984 bp in size, respectively, and comprised 37 genes (13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNA genes and 2 rRNA genes). A major noncoding (control) region was 1,167 bp in R. xizangense and 1,193 bp in R. zayuanum with structural organizations simpler than that reported in other Neuropterida species, notably lacking conserved blocks or long tandem repeats. Besides similar mitogenomic structure, the genetic distance between R. xizangense and R. zayuanum based on two rRNAs and 13 protein coding genes (PCGs) as well as the genetic distance between each of these two Tibetan Rapisma species and a Thai Rapisma species (R. cryptunum) based on partial rrnL show that R. xizangense and R. zayuanum are most likely conspecific. Thus, R. zayuanum syn. nov. is herein treated as a junior synonym of R. xizangense. The present finding represents a rare example of distinct sexual dimorphism in lacewings. This comparative mitogenomic analysis sheds new light on the identification of rare species with sexual dimorphism and the biology of Neuroptera.

In most species of Megaloptera, adult males and females have similar coloration. In this paper, we associate the adult female of a Chinese endemic dobsonfly species, Protohermes niger Yang & Yang, using molecular evidence from two mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA and COI). The body and wing coloration between the male and the female of P. niger exhibits distinct sexual dimorphism.

The dobsonfly genus Neoneuromus van der Weele is endemic to the Oriental region. Species possess highly variable body and wing colouration and markings, not only among species but also among conspecific individuals of certain species. This stark polymorphism hinders accurate species identification, and obscures an undocumented species diversity as well as our understanding of the evolutionary history of this genus. We used multiple methods of molecular identification combined with morphological evidence to delimitate species, circumscribing a total of 13 species in Neoneuromus. Five new species are herein described: Neoneuromus indistinctus Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus maculatus Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus niger Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n., Neoneuromus similis Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n. and Neoneuromus vanderweelei Liu, Hayashi & Yang, sp.n. The dated phylogeny with reconstructed ancestral areas indicates an initial divergence of Neoneuromus during the mid‐Eocene. A broad area including northeastern India and northern Indochina could be a centre for early divergence of the genus, while complex dispersal and vicariance events dating from the late Eocene to the Pliocene probably shaped the present diversity and distribution of the genus. Our ancestral character state reconstruction suggests that the pale and dark colour forms among different species, or conspecifics, could evolve rapidly and that changes in colouration could be driven by species‐specific mate recognition.

The crane fly Nephrotoma tenuipes belongs to family Tipulidae. The mitogenome of N. tenuipes was sequenced, the new representative of the mitogenome of the family Tipulidae. The nearly complete mitogenome is 14,851 bp totally, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs and 22 transfer RNAs. All genes have the similar locations and strands with that of other published species of Tipulidae. The nucleotide composition biases toward A and T, which together made up 76.04％of the entirety. Bayesian inference analysis strongly supported the monophyly of Tipuloidea. It suggested that the phylogenetic relationship within Tipuloidea is Pediciidae + (Limoniidae + (Tipulidae + Cylindrotomidae)).

The crane fly Tipula (Formotipula) melanomera gracilispina belongs to the Tipulidae. The mitogenome of T. (F.) melanomera gracilispina was sequenced, the new representative of the mitogenome of the family. The nearly complete mitogenome is 14,575 bp totally, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNAs and 22 transfer RNAs. All genes have the similar locations and strands with that of other published species of Tipuloidea. The nucleotide composition biases toward A and T, which together made up 76.3% of the entirety. Bayesian inference analysis strongly supported the monophyly of Tipuloidea. It suggested that monophyletic Tipulidae was assigned to the sister to the monophyletic Cylindrotomidae and the Limoniidae is the sister group to the clade of Tipulidae þ Cylindrotomidae.

The subfamily Xanthochlorinae comprises a single genus Xanthochlorus, and is rare in collections. Previously, there were four known species in the genus Xanthochlorus from China. In this paper, the species of the Xanthochlorus from China are reviewed. The following two species from Gansu Province of China are described as new to science: Xanthochlorus gansuensis sp. n. and Xanthochlorus tewoensis sp. n. A key to species of the Xanthochlorus from China is provided.