Myrmeleon Linnaeus, 1767

Badano, Davide & Pantaleoni, Roberto Antonio, 2014, The larvae of European Myrmeleontidae (Neuroptera), Zootaxa 3762 (1), pp. 1-71 : 51

Myrmeleon Linnaeus, 1767

Diagnosis. Anterior margin of the clypeo-labrum slightly concave; mandibles with 3 equidistant teeth of which the apical one is the strongest, although only slightly, 1 seta is always present after the apical tooth, external margin of the mandibles provided with long setae; labial palpi normally four-articulated (with few exceptions); pronotum covered by short stout setae; meso- and metathorax with sessile setiferous processes; VIII abdominal sternite provided with odontoid processes (slightly pronounced in some species) and with spiniform or stout setae on the posterior margin; IX abdominal sternite at least with an anterior row group of digging setae and two short rastra each bearing 4 digging setae, some species are provided with additional ventral digging setae.

Examined species. M. formicarius Linnaeus, 1767 ; M. gerlindae Hölzel, 1974 ; M. punicanus Pantaleoni & Badano, 2012 ; M. bore (Tjeder, 1941) ; M. inconspicuus Rambur, 1842 ; M. mariaemathildae Pantaleoni, Cesaroni & Nicoli Aldini, 2010 ; M. hyalinus Olivier, 1811 ; M. fasciatus (Navás, 1914) .

Comments. This cosmopolite genus is the most speciose in the whole family, comprising about 180 species ( Stange 2004), despite the reciprocal relationships among species and closely related genera are unclear. The larvae of a notable number of species have been described, resulting the better known genus in this respect ( Stange 2004), although the state of knowledge regarding the ecological requirements and morphology of most species is very inadequate, especially for tropical ones. The larvae of most European species have been described (see text).