Five Northern Lacewings New to the Virginia Fauna, Including Significant Southern Range Extensions for Eremochrysa canadensis and Hemerobius costalis (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae, Hemerobiidae)

The Order Neuroptera is a relatively small group of soft-bodied, primitive holometabolous insects that includes the antlions (Myrmeleontidae), owlflies (Ascalaphidae), green lacewings (Chrysopidae), brown lacewings (Hemerobiidae), mantisflies (Mantispidae), and spongillaflies (Sisyridae). The neuropteran fauna of Virginia is poorly documented, as evidenced by the lack of a published checklist for the state. Published records citing Virginia specimens or localities are widely scattered in the literature, primarily in species descriptions or generic and family revisions (e.g., Carpenter, 1940). Penny et al. (1997) summarized available knowledge concerning the taxonomy and distribution of the North American (north of Mexico) neuropteran fauna and cited Virginia records for 43 species in 24 genera (Table 1). Considering species known from adjacent or other nearby states that may be found in Virginia with more intensive survey efforts, we predict the state’s actual fauna includes about 25 additional species. We are currently aware of several new state and numerous new county records for Neuroptera in Virginia, including two reported below that represent significant extensions of the known ranges of the respective species. The purpose of this paper is to report the occurrence in Virginia (plus West Virginia for one) of five species of lacewings with primarily boreal distributions. All specimens were identified by OSF and are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM) or the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH).