Raphidia Linnaeus, 1758 s.l.

Aspoeck, Horst & Aspoeck, Ulrike, 2023, The snakeflies of the Mediterranean islands: review and biogeographical analysis (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 70 (1), pp. 175-218 : 175

Raphidia Linnaeus, 1758 s.l.

Raphidia Linnaeus, 1758 (odescr) [type species by monotypy: Raphidia ophiopsis Linnaeus, 1758]: H. Aspöck et al. 1989 (biogeogr, distr; ill: distrmap); H. Aspöck et al. 1991 (mon); Oswald and Penny 1991 (cat, nom); H. Aspöck et al. 2001 (anncat); H. Aspöck 2002 (biol, paras); Haring et al. 2011 (phyl); U. Aspöck et al. 2012 (fig: phyltree; list); H. Aspöck and U. Aspöck 2013 (cat, etymol, phyl), 2014 (cat).

Taxonomy and systematics.

H. Aspöck et al. (1991), Haring et al. (2011). With 18 species in Subilla three subgenera ( Raphidia s. str.: 15 spp., Aserbeidshanoraphidia H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck: 1 sp., Nigroraphidia H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck: 2. spp.). Raphidia is - after Mongoloraphidia and Phaeostigma - the third largest genus of the family Raphidiidae . Only the subgenus Phaeostigma Raphidia s. str. is represented on Mediterranean islands with altogether 6 species, five of these ( R. mediterranea , R. beieri , R. peterressli , R. mysia , R. ambigua ) belong to a group of more closely related species, while R. ariadne is somewhat isolated. In a molecular phylogenetic study ( Haring et al. 2011) Raphidia s. l. has emerged as the sister of Dichrostigma + Tjederiraphidia , but this needs confirmation.

All species can easily be differentiated by characters of the male, partly also of female genitalia.

Biology.

Larvae of some species strictly corticolous, of others partly or strictly soil-dwelling. Development in some (most?) species mainlyone year, in others two (or - rarely - Subilla three ) years. Last hibernating stage: full-grown larva. Adults: (III)IV-VII(VIII).

Distribution.

Europe (except W- and SW-Europe), Aegean islands, Anatolia, Caucasus, N-Iran, northern and northeastern Asia.