Introducing another friend of the gardener – Why should gardeners love this little non-descript wasp? Binodoxys carolinensis is in the subfamily Aphidiinae, which are all parasitoids of aphids. Aphids, as many have found, can be a huge problem on the tender new growth of many vegetables and ornamentals.

Aphidiine braconids are all very small wasps, with reduced wing veins as compared to most other braconids. It is a diverse group distributed world wide.

After mating, the female wasp will search for a population of aphids suitable as hosts for her young. She will lay a single egg in an aphid, which will hatch into a larva. The larva develops to adult on that single aphid host. This aspect categorizes these wasps as parasitoids, meaning that all the sustenance needed from egg to adult is taken from a single host. Because of this, parasitoids are some of the most efficient organisms on the planet, converting nearly all of their food to biomass.

Parasitoids such as B. carolinensis are useful to commercial growers as well. Because parasitoids have such a narrow host range, targeting only a few or sometimes just one species, it isn’t too difficult to develop a pest control program that doesn’t have a large impact on other insect fauna. Many ecological studies have been done concerning aphid parasitoids in crop pest systems (Jones 1972, Muller et al. 1997, Macfadyen et al. 2009). Using parasitoids is a method of biological control, which can sometimes be more cost effective and easier than using pesticides.

If you’re wondering if you have this little helper in your garden, look for what are called “aphid mummies” such as in the image below. There is often an emergence hole where the parasitoid has exited the host. If you find some of these “aphid mummies”, you may have B. carolinensis or one of its relatives helping to keep the aphid populations down.

Image credit: Denis Crawford

There are no records of this species in GBIF

Find out more:

Jones, M. G. (1972). “Cerial aphid their parasites and predators caught in cages over oat and winter wheat crops.” Annals of Applied Biology 72(1): 13-25.

Macfadyen, S., R. Gibson, et al. (2009). “Parasitoid control of aphids in organic and conventional farming systems.” Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 133(1-2): 14-18.

Muller, C. B., W. Voelkl, et al. (1997). “Are behavioural changes in parasitised aphids a protection against hyperparasitism?” European Journal of Entomology 94(2): 221-234.

Neuroptera: Mantispidae: Dicromantispa sayi (Banks, 1897)

When I was a student at Texas A&M University, one of the most exciting insects I collected from a MV light trap was a mantispid.  I was just beginning as an entomologist, and this insect was one of the most beautiful and strange that I had seen!

Adults of the neuropteran family Mantispidae greatly resemble the praying mantis (Mantodea: Mantidae), with their triangular head, large eyes, elongate prothorax and raptorial legs. However, the superficial resemblance is the result of convergent evolution.  Among several important biological differences, members of Mantispidae are holometabolous and Mantidae are not. D. sayi is identified by its wing tips and crossveins lacking brown spots. The head, body, and legs are pale yellow with extremely variable brown or black markings.

In 2002, Hoffman created new genera for Nearctic and Neotropical species of the subfamily Mantispinae based on his discovery that New and Old World clades were dissimilar.  Three species were originally named to explain the extreme variation in color over the mantispid’s range– Mantispa fuscicornis from Florida and Texas, M. sayi from west of the Mississippi River and Florida, and M. uhleri east of the Mississippi and northward. Hoffmann synonymized all species under Mantispa sayi since he found no differences in genitalia among several populations from Panama to the northeastern U.S.

Dicromantispa sayi develops by feeding on spider eggs in larval stages. In the Mantispinae, first-instar larvae are campodeiform (elongated, flattened, and active) and find spider eggs by searching for, and penetrating, egg sacs or by boarding a female spider and entering the egg sac while it is being constructed by the host.  Larval mantispids drain the spider egg contents through a piercing/sucking tube formed by modified mandibles and maxillae. After pupation, the newly emerged adult chews its way out of its cocoon and the spider egg sac (Cannings and Cannings 2006).

The Mantispinae board a large variety of spiders (31 species from almost all hunting families of Lycosoidea and Clubionoidea). The first instar larva over-winters on the host and emerges in early spring or summer. Depending on life history of the spider host, between 1-3 generations of mantispids could be produced each year (Redborg and MacLeod 1985).

Only 6 species of the subfamily Mantispinae occur in North America.  In Canada, D. sayi is known only from extreme southern Ontario. In the United States, D. sayi ranges from most of the eastern states south to Florida, west to South Dakota, Utah, Nebraska, and eastern Arizona.  Its range extends south through Mexico to Panama, and it’s also found in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

The NCSU Insect Museum has 3 old specimens: one from Lyford, Texas in May, 1965; Raleigh, N.C.  May 193x (determined as Mantispa sayi in 1936); Lumberton, N.C. (about 60 miles south of Raleigh), September 1970.

Find out more:

R. Cannings &  Cannings, S.G.  2006. The Mantispidae (Insects: Neuroptera) of Canada, with notes on morphology, ecology, and distribution. Can. Entomol. 138. 531-544.

K . E. Redborg and MacLeod, E. G. 1985 . The developmental ecology of Mantispa uhleri Banks (Neuroptera : Mantispidae). Illinois Biol. Monogr., 53.  130 pp .

BugGuide

GBIF — 499 records

Wikispecies

Inspired by the complaints about the low number of Hymenoptera “Insect of the week” blogs (No. 25.) I have decided to write about one of the most interesting and distinct North American Hymenoptera, the pelecinid wasp.  Due to its relatively large body size (5–11mm) and unique morphological characteristics (extremely elongated, telescopic-like female metasoma), the shining black and slow flier pelecinid specimens are easily recognized even with the naked eye while taking our late summer-early fall walks in hardwood NC forests.

Pelecinus polyturator female specimens

The unigeneric family Pelecinidae is usually classified into the superfamily Proctotrupoidea due to the annular, ring like pronotum and retractable ovipositor. Although Proctotrupoidea has never been reported as monophyletic in the most recent higher-level phylogenetic studies of Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae is usually retrieved as sister to Proctotrupidae, Vanhorniidae and Heloridae. Pelecinus, the only genus of the family, contains 3 species, of which, Pelecinus polyturator is the most widely distributed from southern parts of eastern Canada to northern Argentina. The species is the only Neartic representative of the genus.

The size variation of P. polyturator is relatively large (body length varies between 20–90 mm). The wasp is wholly black in the Nearctic region, however, some reddish specimens have been collected in Central America. The fore wing venation is reduced comparing with the usually brownish Neotropic Monomachidae species, that are the only Hymenoptera which pelecinids could be confused with.

The exceptionally elongate telescopic-like, apical female metasomal segments are shared by both taxa and is related to the ovipozition behavior: Pelecinid females are able to parasitize Phyllophaga larvae up to 5 cm under the soil surface!

Although Pelecinus polyturator is relatively large and easily recognizable, surprisingly little is known about its biology.  Specimens of the species have been reared from larvae of Phyllophaga sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) with low rates of parasitization (1-3%). Phyllophaga species in the Nearctic region have three larval instars, and the life cycle varies from 1 to 4 years. The incredible size variation of Pelecinus specimens may be the result of either the differing range in size of larvae of different Phyllophaga species (length larvae of North American Phyllophaga species ranges between 7.25 to 25 mm) or may also be related to whether the wasp develops on a second or third instar.

Life cycle of Phyllophaga sp. Image credit: UNL Turfgrass Entomology )

The abundance of males are low in the Nearctic region (4%), whereas the sex ratio is around 36% in Central and South America. Brues has treated the disjunction between the temperate spanandrous (males are only very sparsely found) and subtropical/tropical bisexual population as an example of the geographic parthenogenesis.  Based on Brues theory Pelecinus polyturator populations are thelythokous (females are produced from unfertilized eggs) in temperate zones, whereas arrchenotokous (unfertilized eggs develop into haploid males, and fertilized eggs develop into diploid females) in tropical regions. Parthenogenetic reproduction is favored in marginal areas (temperate zone in the case of Pelecinus polyturator) with lower population density. Mate chance as well as the influence of the biotic factors behind the force of selective pressure for the increased genetic diversity are decreased.

The NCSU Insect Collection encompasses 120 P. polyturator specimens of which 112 females and 1 male have been collected in the USA and 4 males and 3 females from Central America (Costa Rica). The largest specimen is 7.5 cm and the smallest is 3.4 cm long.

Find out more:

http://data.gbif.org/search/polyturator

Bennett AMR (2003) Host location behavior of Pelecinus polyturator (Hymenoptera, Pelecinidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 134:131­–134.

Brues CT (1923) A note on the genus Pelecinus. Psyche 35:205–209.

Johnson NF & Musetti L (1999) Revision of the Proctotrupoid genus Pelecinus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Journal of Natural History 33:1513–1543.

Johnson NF & Musetti L (1998) Geographic variation of sex ratio in Pelecinus polyturator (Drury) (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 7:48–56.

Johnson NF & Musetti L. The Pelecinus Project.

Dictyoptera: Blattaria: Blattellidae: Parcoblatta lata (Brunner, 1865)

This week’s insect is a small (0.5-1.0 inches in length), common wood cockroach native to pine forests in the eastern U.S., Parcoblatta lata. There are only about 70 cockroach species that occur in the United States and Canada.

Cockroaches have evolved several methods for protecting their eggs (egg cases are called oothecae), including encased ovipary (ootheca),  externally retained ootheca, internally retained ootheca, and pseudoviviparity (where the ootheca is effectively lost). The more “popular” Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) females carry the ootheca internally and release nymphs after the eggs hatch. The egg cases of Parcoblatta lata need the perfect balance of moisture and are most often deposited in damp, rotting logs.  This species has only one generation per year, with females producing an average of 41 eggs per oothecae, or about 517 offspring during their lifetime (Horn & Hanula 2002). Researchers have found as many as 20 oothecae in 1 meter of moist log – if all eggs survived to emergence, that would be about 820 Parcoblatta nymphs emerging in one log!

Commonly known as the broad wood cockroach, Parcoblatta lata is one of the most common wood roaches present in snags (standing dead trees) and logs in pine forests. They can easily be found scurrying about or hiding in the loose bark in rotten logs where there is better protection from predators, and are very commonly found at night in pine boles.

As is the case with all species within the cockroach genus Parcoblatta, females have reduced wings and are flightless, while males have long wings used for flight. The roaches overwinter as nymphs, and females normally live about 2 months longer than males.

Ensign wasps (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae) develop as solitary predators of cockroach eggs (the Deans lab studies systematics of Evaniidae).   This video, taken by Matt Bertone, is of Hyptia thoracica (Blanchard) ovipositing in Parcoblatta lata oothecae in Raleigh in July, 2010. MB collected a female H. thoracica from his house and exposed her to several oothecae of Parcoblatta lata under laboratory conditions. We are still waiting to see what, if anything, emerges from this (presumed) oviposition.

We have 65 specimens of P. lata in the NCSU Insect Collection -  half (32) are from Raleigh, while the remaining North Carolina specimens are from Madison, Harnett, Brunswick, Buncombe, Rowan, Davie, New Hanover, Yadkin, Guilford, Alamance, Forsyth and Currituck Counties. There are 3 specimens from Rutherford Co., T.N., Fallston, Maryland, and Mobile, Alabama.  The oldest specimen is from Raleigh in 1946! The counties in North Carolina where we have collecting records are in green on the map below.

Find out more:

Horn, S. and J.L. Hanula. 2002.  Life History and Habitat Associations of the Broad Wood Cockroach, Parcoblatta lata (Blattaria: Blattellidae) and Other Native Cockroaches in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol. 95, no, 6.

Blattodea Species File Online

GBIF record -  only 1 record

BugGuide (Parcoblatta)

What is the best way to simultaneously preserve an insect collection, promote a haiku contest and produce bug baseball cards? Simple. A grant to the North Carolina State University Insect Museum. The museum boasts being an ‘internationally recognized resource for the study of insects and mites in North Carolina, the Southeastern United States, and, in several insect groups, the world.’ (p. 37) [emphasis mine]

Thanks guys! They really loved our outreach ideas and blog and even gave a shout-out to the haiku contest (which is neither funded nor promoted by the NSF grant, as I use funds from my own pocket for that)! Looks like our hard work—databasing, replacing cabinetry, drawers, and unit trays (all bought from American suppliers), and reaching out to educate North Carolinians (and others), hiring 5 people—is really paying off. It feels pretty good to get some attention from prominent, national figures.

Embioptera: Teratembiidae: Diradius vandykei (Ross, 1944)

This week’s insect, Diradius vandykei Ross, is a webspinner that is found throughout North Carolina’s Coastal Plain. It is distributed in the Gulf Coast Plain (from south Mississippi to Florida) and the coastal plains of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and southeast Virginia.       

Diradius vandykei is one of less than 400 currently recognized species of Embioptera worldwide. It belongs in the family Teratembiidae and the genus Diradius. There are only three species (including D. vandykei) of Diradius found in the United States. Diradius can be identified by the presence of two prominent inner lobes in the left cercus-base (left cercus-basipodite) in adult males. Diradius vandykei is distinct from the other two Diradius species in that the anterior angles of the submentum are lobed (lobe at each anterior angle) and a tooth is present in the incisor arc of the right mandible (Ross 1984).     

Webspinners in general are known to live gregariously under rocks, in soil, and on or under bark. They construct silken galleries using silk produced from silk glands present in the basal segment of the front tarsus. These galleries are continually expanded and covers foraging zones as individuals seek fresh food such as lichens, algae, and dead plant matter. Many records of Diradius vandykei are from the trunks of isolated, lichen-encrusted hardwoods (especially oaks) and from pines (Deitz and Stephan 1984).

Other interesting facts about webspinners include their ability to move backwards with agility and their ability to fold their wings (males) forward. Winged males can run backwards through galleries without damaging their wings. These flexible wings are stiffened up for flight by inflation of the hollow veins in the wings with hemolymph. Some species of webspinners have also been observed to play dead when facing potential danger.

We have well over 200 Diradius vandykei specimens from over 40 collecting events at the NCSU Insect Museum. Most of these specimens were collected in North Carolina. We also have numerous vials of undetermined Teratembiidae (many of which are possibly Diradius vandykei). They are stored in 80% ethanol.

Find out more:

Deitz, L. L. and D.L. Stephan. 1984. Records of Diradius vandykei (Ross) in North Carolina and Virginia (Embiidina: Teratembiidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 86 (1): 239-241.

Miller, K.B. 2009. Genus- and family-group names in the order Embioptera (Insecta). Zootaxa 2055: 1–34.

Ross, E. S. 1984. A synopsis of the Embiidina of the United States. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 86 (1): 82-93.

Szumik, C., J.S. Edgerly, and C.Y. Hayashi. 2008. Phylogeny of embiopterans (Insecta). Cladistics 24: 993-1005.

Zoraptera: Zorotypidae: Zorotypus hubbardi (Caudell, 1918)

This week’s insect, Zorotypus hubbardi Caudell, is one of only two species of Zoraptera known to occur in North America north of Mexico. The common name for this species is Hubbard’s angel insect. Its distribution ranges from Maryland and southern Pennsylvania west to southern Iowa and south to Florida and Texas.

Zoraptera is a very small insect order with only 34 extant species all belonging to a single genus (Zorotypus Silvestri 1913) (Hunefeld 2007). These termite-like insects are often found in old termite galleries, lumber mill saw dust piles, under bark, or in rotten wood. They are relatively small (2-3.5 mm in total length) and they are known to live gregariously. There are two distinct adult morphs within each species including Zorotypus hubbardi: 1.) blind and wingless 2.) with a pair of compound eyes, three simple eyes, and a pair of wings. Zorapterans have been noted to feed on fungal hyphae and spores, scavenge dead arthropods, and also prey on nematodes and other small arthropods (Hinojosa-Diaz et al. 2006). 

Zorotypus hubbardi was described by Caudell in 1918. It can be identified from other zorapteran species by a combination of character states including the oval shape of the cercus, presence of two prominent spines at the ventral margin of the hind femur, the shape of the male abdomen, and the shape of the male genitalia (Gurney 1938).

The length of the nymphal period of Zorotypus hubbardi is estimated to be 30-50 days and the adult lifespan is estimated to be around 30-40 days (Shetlar 1978). Adults are most active during spring and summer. Copulation involves a female climbing upon the dorsal surface of a male that is facing the same direction and uniting the genitalia. The female then continues to climb forward and drags the male partner leaving him upside down while their genitalia are still united. The mating process lasts about two minutes. A female may produce five to seven eggs in her lifetime (Shetlar 1978). 

(Shetlar 1978)

We have about 200 Zorotypus hubbardi specimens at the NCSU Insect Museum. These specimens come from 42 collecting events from different parts of North Carolina. They are stored in 80% ethanol.

Find out more:

Gurney, A. B. 1938. A synopsis of the order Zoraptera, with notes on the biology of Zorotypus hubbardi Caudell. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 40: 57-87.

Hinojosa-Diaz, I.A, E. Bonaccorso, and M.S. Engel. 2006. The potential distribution of Zorotypus hubbardi Caudell (Zoraptera: Zorotypidae) in North America, as predicted by ecological niche modeling. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 108 (4): 860-867.

Hunefeld, F. 2007. The genital morphology of Zorotypus hubbardi Caudell, 1918 (Insecta: Zoraptera: Zorotypidae). Zoomorphology 37(1): 135-151.

Shetlar, D.J. 1978. Biological observations on Zorotypus hubbardi Caudell (Zoraptera). Entomological News 89 (9-10): 217-223.

Zygentoma: Lepismatidae: Ctenolepisma lineata (=quadriseriata) (Fabricius, 1775)

This week’s insect, the four-lined silverfish (Ctenolepisma lineata), is a familiar insect to many since it often lives in domestic situations. Silverfish represent one of the oldest lineages of true insects (“true insects” meaning all but the basal entognathous groups of hexapods), being about 400,000,000 years old! As old as they are, they are little changed from their ancestors, appearing today to be “primitive” (some groups even have styli on the underneath of their abdomens, similar to extra legs). While Ctenolepisma lineata is not necessarily a native of NC (it is originally from Europe), it has been here for a very long time and, thus, can be considered established.

The four-lined silverfish is larger (12-19mm) than its close relatives the common silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) and the firebrat (Thermobia domestica), and differs from Ctenolepisma longicaudata in having a striped appearance. Silverfish get their names from the iridescent scales covering the body (see below); some are more silvery than others, and Ctenolepisma longicaudata is more of a beige + silver.

A close-up of Ctenolepisma lineata showing the scaly body.

Silverfish are truly scavengers: they mainly eat carbohydrates/starches, but will also consume book bindings, wallpaper glue, paper, photos, sugar, coffee, hair, carpet, clothing, dandruff, cotton, linen, silk, synthetic fibers, dead insects, exuviae (shed skins), and even leather. Because of this, silverfish that invade homes can sometimes be pests, destroying tapestries, books and clothing, among other things. Silverfish appear to be able to digest cellulose without the aid of gut flora, probably using enzymes that they produce themselves (Lasker & Giese, 1956). Biologically, silverfish can take months to years to reach sexual maturity, and are one of the few groups of insects that continues to molt after becoming an adult. They also change little in appearance from young to adult, referred to in insects as ametamorphosis.

Specimens in the NCSU Insect Museum: We only have a handful of silverfish determined as Ctenolepisma lineata in the museum’s alcohol collection (80% ethanol being the medium to preserve these soft-bodied insects). They were collected from Wake and Chatham Co. houses in the mid-1980s.

Find out more:

Wygodzinsky, P. 1972. A Review of the Silverfish (Lepismatidae, Thysanura) of the United States and the Caribbean Area. American Museum Novitates. 2481. [PDF]

University of Missouri Extension Pest Guide to Silverfish [PDF]

Zygentoma records on GBIF (only 1 in North America): http://data.gbif.org/species/13141220

Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Oncometopia orbona (=undata) (Fabricius, 1798)

This week’s insect – the broad-headed sharpshooter (Oncometopia orbona) – is a large, brightly-colored leafhopper in the family Cicadellidae (Cicadellinae: Proconiini – ’sharpshooters’). According to Nomina Nearctica, O. orbona was originally described by Fabricius in the genus Cicada, owing to its large size for a cicadellid (~10-13mm) and cicada-like appearance:

From the side O. orbona appears cicada-like.

Another Oncometopia that is often confused with this species, O. nigricans, is only found in FL and has the black wing markings localized along the veins.

Like all cicadellids, O. orbona feeds on plants, sucking sap from xylem (the vessels that bring sugars from the roots to the leaves); O. orbona is a generalist, feeding on various plants. Excessive fluids taken in by the leafhopper are often expelled as honeydew, and the rapid and sometimes audible ejection may be why these hoppers are called ’sharpshooters’. In addition to the production of honeydew, cicadellids also produce a waxy powder, made up of structures called brochosomes (see below), from their Malpighian tubules (organs that are used in excretory processes in most insects). Normally brochosomes cover the body in a thin layer, and may function to repel water and their honeydew. Rakitov (2000) noted that there is sexual dimorphism in the type of brochosomes produced by different stages and sexes of O. orbona. Indeed, when females are about to lay eggs, they create patches of brochosomes on their wings (seen here), which they kick onto their eggs to coat/protect them.

Brochosomes produced from a sexually mature female (top) and those from an immature female (bottom) [from Rakitov, 2000; bar = 5 μm].

Many sharpshooters, including O. orbona, are vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease of grapes, phony peach and plum leaf scald (among others). In NC vineyards, 27% of the O. orbona collected were found to be harboring this baterium (Myers, et al. 2007). Because of the potential damage caused by this group of leafhoppers, there have been many attempts to identify and understand potential parasitoids of O. orbona. To that end, a number of Mymaridae and Trichogrammatidae (both egg parasitizing Hymenoptera) have been identified as control agents; Pipunculidae (big-headed flies; Diptera) also parasitize sharpshooter nymphs (Hoddle, et al. 2004; Goolsby, 2007).

Specimens in the NCSU Insect Museum: We have 7 unit trays (about half of a drawer) full of O. orbona, some labeled as their junior synonym O. undata. Most were collected from NC, with some from MD. You can see some of the specimens in this GigaPan.

Find out more:

R. A. Rakitov. 2000. Secretion of brochosomes during the ontogenesis of a leafhopper, Oncometopia orbona (F.) (Insecta, Homoptera, Cicadellidae). Tissue and Cell. 32(1):28-39. [PDF]

Illinois Natural History Survey: Use of brochosomes in oviposition (egg laying) [includes a video of sharpshooter applying brochosomes to body] [link]

Ashley L. Myers, Turner B. Sutton, Jorge A. Abad, and George G. Kennedy. 2007. Pierce’s Disease of Grapevines: Identification of the Primary Vectors in North Carolina. Phytopathology. 97(11):1440-1450. [PDF]

Mark S. Hoddle, Serguei V. Triapitsyn, Roman A. Rakitov, David J. W. Morgan. 2004. Searching for and collecting egg parasitoids of the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter in the central and eastern USA. [PDF]

John Goolsby, Jeff Skevington, Blake Bextine, Randy Coleman. 2007. EXPLORATION FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS IN THE NATIVE RANGE OF THE GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER. [PDF]

On Bugguide: Oncometopia orbona

Megaloptera: Sialidae: Sialis joppa Ross, 1937

This week’s insect is one that I don’t see too often – Sialis joppa Ross, 1937, commonly referred to as an alderfly. I think I’ve only ever collected one or two alderflies, though that’s probably because I’m not usually collecting in their habitats (usually alongside permanent water sources) or using the right methods (sweep net, mostly but also Malaise traps and other methods – but probably not yellow pans, which are my preferred method!). This is yet another species that is important for water quality studies and (less so) as a model for fly-tying.

Natural History: Adults lay eggs on vegetation near water, and after the larvae hatch they move into the water, where they breathe dissolved oxygen using abdominal gills. Larval alderflies, which may live up to three years, are voracious and indiscriminate predators of other aquatic invertebrates, and they have strong mandibles to prove it! S. joppa is reported to be a small stream specialist, though prepupa have been also found inside pitcher plants (Mather 1981, in New & Theischinger 1993). Perhaps they were using this site as a place to pupate, though they often pupate in mud along the edges of the water. After they emerge from their pupa the adults can be found in overhanging vegetation (including alders!) Whiting (1991) reports that S. joppa can be found as far south as Georgia, north up to Ontario, west to Wyoming.

Taxonomic History: There are roughly 70 species of alderfly worldwide, classified in nine genera. Sialis is largely holarctic, with about 20 species in North America. S. joppa described by Herb Ross in 1937. Whiting (1994) provides a cladistic analysis of the family that places S. joppa in the californica species group.

Specimens in the NCSU Insect Museum: We have a single pinned specimen, with a data label that reads: “Raleigh, N.C. / V 13 1951 / D. M. Weisman” [NCSU 0005800]. The rest of our pinned Sialidae fit inside a single drawer and are mostly determined to species. Our wet-preserved specimens together form a fairly meager collection: 43 vials, mostly determined simply as Sialis or Sialidae. Three vials contain larvae that are determined to species: S. aequalis and S. occidens.

Find out more:

Engel, M. S. 2004. The alderflies of Kansas (Megaloptera: Sialidae). Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903-), Vol. 107 (3/4): 119-12.

New, T. R.; Theischinger, G. 1993. Megaloptera, Alderflies and Dobsonflies. Handbuch der Zoologie, Vol. 4 (Arthropoda: Insecta), Part 33. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. 97 pp.

Ross, H.H. 1937. Nearctic alder flies of the genus Sialis (Megaloptera, Sialidae). Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 21, p. 57-78.

Whiting, M. F. 1991. A distributional study of Sialis (Megaloptera: Sialidae) in North America. Entomological News 102(1): 50-56.

Whiting, M. F. 1994. Cladistic analysis of the alderflies of America north of Mexico (Megaloptera: Sialidae). Systematic Entomology 19: 77-91.

Sialis page at BugGuide: http://bugguide.net/node/view/16957 (includes pictures of live specimens and larvae)

Sialis joppa page at GBIF: http://data.gbif.org/species/13724814/ (currently 0 records)