The Neotropical genus Titanochrysa (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae): larval descriptions, biological notes, a new species, and taxonomic changes

This report provides new information on three facets of a recently described Neotropical genus of chrysopine lacewings, Titanochrysa Sosa & Freitas 2012. First, because the current taxonomic understanding of the genus is based entirely on the adult stage, we describe the larvae and aspects of the biology of Titanochrysa trespuntensis Sosa & Freitas. We show that although T. trespuntensis larvae share many morphological and behavioral characteristics with other Neotropical genera of Chrysopini, they also differ significantly in many generic-level characters. Their unique suite of larval features provides strong support for the designation of this group of lacewings as a genus. Second, Titanochrysa is known to contain four species; this report describes the adult of a fifth species—Titanochrysa simpliciala New Species, from Costa Rica. Third, the report presents new locality records for three of the original four Titanochrysa species and deals with several taxonomic issues. Specifically, (a) Chrysopa annotaria Banks is transferred to the genus; thus the valid name for the species becomes Titanochrysa annotaria (Banks), New Combination. (b) Titanochrysa pseudovaricosa (Penny) is documented as a New Synonym of T. annotaria. (c) Chrysopa nigripalpis Banks is identified as a New Synonym of Titanochrysa circumfusa (Burmeister).