Apertochrysa ventralis ( Curtis, 1834 )

Duelli, Peter & Henry, Charles S., 2022, The Apertochrysa prasina group (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), with a key to the European species, Zootaxa 5134 (1), pp. 61-91 : 81-82

Apertochrysa ventralis ( Curtis, 1834)

Chrysopa ventralis Curtis, 1834 : original description

Anisochrysa ventralis ( Curtis, 1834) : Hölzel & Ohm, 1972

Dichochrysa ventralis ( Curtis, 1834) : Paulian, 1996

Mallada ventralis ( Curtis, 1834) : Séméria, 1985

Pseudomallada ventralis ( Curtis, 1834) : Monserrat, 2016

Apertochrysa ventralis ( Curtis, 1834) : Breitkreuz et al., 2021

Diagnosis: Available live-colored material: 34♀, 12♂ ( Switzerland, Germany, Poland)

The most prominent and unique trait of the medium to large-sized A. ventralis is the presence of black abdominal sternites ( Fig. 16 ) and the black spot ventrally and on the prothorax. Body coloration grass-green or bluish-green. Tips of the palps dark. Face all green. Vertex green or yellowish-green, sometimes with two brown spots. Scape rarely (5%) with black caudal dots. Interantennal spot usually a very characteristic inverted clove shape ( Figs. 4 , 17 ), but more rarely pear- or Y-shaped. Subantennal sutures usually pale, but 13% had red or brown sutures. Female forewings 13.0–16.0 mm, male forewings 11.0–15.0 mm. Costal crossveins completely dark, males with furwings. Dark portion of im cell 12–30%, usually in one piece. Prothorax with one or two pairs of large brown or black spots. Three lateral prothoracic spots large, often one black, two brown. Dorsal abdomen usually without spots, 20% had single pairs of spots on some or most of the segments. The eggs are deposited singly.

Distribution: Europe, mainly the northern half.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Shapes of interantennal spot in the European species of the prasina group.

FIGURE 16. Apertochrysa ventralis with black ventral side of the abdomen, entirely black ccv, and large black spots on the prothorax (female from Claro, Ticino, Switzerland).

FIGURE 17. Apertochrysa ventralis with black dots on vertex and an elongated clove-shaped interantennal spot (female from Agarone, Ticino, Switzerland).