Myrmeleon immanis Walker, 1853

Kim, Jiseung, Ahn, Neung-Ho & Kim, Sora, 2025, A taxonomic review of the family Myrmeleontidae Latreille (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontiformia) from the Korean peninsula, highlighting the conservation value of this family, ZooKeys 1262, pp. 97-174 : 97-174

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1262.163194
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:432F41EC-E4E2-4D90-B1DA-23027FBCCF62
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17818188
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/638D5ADD-2904-5970-8E8F-8EEA2CCA0C05
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Myrmeleon immanis Walker, 1853
status

Treatment

Myrmeleon immanis Walker, 1853 View in CoL

Figs 13 View Figure 13 , 14 View Figure 14 , 35 F View Figure 35 , 36 E View Figure 36 , 37 B View Figure 37

Myrmeleon immanis Walker, 1853: 381. Type locality: China. View in CoL

Myrmeleon medialis Navás, 1932: 110. Type locality: Russia: Buryatiya: Chikoy. View in CoL

Myrmeleon procubitalis Navás, 1935: 41. Type locality: Russia: Buryatiya: Chikoy. View in CoL

Grocus pallens Hölzel, 1970 b: 255 View in CoL . Type locality: Mongolia: Bulgan.

Specimens examined.

[ JBNU] • 3 ♂ 2 ♀, Sindu-ri , Wonbuk-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, 20. VIII. 2022, J. S. Kim ; • 2 ♂, Sindu-ri , Wonbuk-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, 17. VI. 2023, J. S. Kim ; • 1 ♂ 1 ♀ (reared from larva), Sindu-ri , Wonbuk-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, 18. VI. 2023, J. S. Kim ; • 1 ♀, Sindu-ri , Wonbuk-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, 31. VII. 2024, J. S. Kim ; • 3 larvae (3 rd instar), Sindu-ri , Wonbuk-myeon, Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, 18. VI. 2023, J. S. Kim .

Diagnosis.

In Myrmeleon immanis , wing veins and crossveins are yellowish brown. The pronotum has yellow anterior and lateral margins that form an M-shaped yellow marking. The vertex has yellow markings, while in M. bore and M. formicarius , the vertex is only black. In larvae, abdominal sternite IX has dense short digging setae in front of the rastra.

Description.

Male, adult. Head (Fig. 13 B, C View Figure 13 ). Vertex wide, slightly raised, reddish brown. Frons dark brown, with yellow spot at middle; clypeus yellow, with long pale brown hairs. Antenna dark brown, short, with slightly defined club, densely covered with short black hairs; flagellum comprising ~ 30 flagellomeres. Mouthparts brown; labrum yellow, with several hyaline black hairs; maxillary palpus brown; labial palpus brown, spindle-shaped.

Thorax (Fig. 13 C View Figure 13 ). Pronotum broad, length shorter than width, dark brown, yellow anterior and lateral margins forming M-shaped yellow marking, covered with hyaline hairs. Mesonotum and metanotum dark brown, covered with several hyaline hairs.

Legs. Coxae moderately covered with long white hairs; forecoxae mostly yellowish brown, midcoxa and hind coxa dark brown. Femora mostly yellowish brown, partly dark brown; moderately covered with black hairs. Tibiae yellowish brown; moderately covered with black hairs. Tibial spurs reddish brown proximally, dark brown distally, short, almost straight, in forelegs and midlegs approximately as long as combined lengths of tarsomeres 1–4, in hindleg approximately as long as length of tarsomere 1. Tarsi yellowish white, tarsomere 5 as long as combined lengths of tarsomeres 1–4; claws reddish brown.

Wings (Fig. 13 A View Figure 13 ). Without markings. Forewings veins and crossveins yellowish brown; presectoral area with seven or eight crossveins; RP arising beyond CuA fork; CuP supporting one cell before fusing with 1 A; 2 A fused with 3 A; pterostigma white; anterior Banksian line absent, posterior Banksian line distinct. Hindwing shorter and narrower than forewing; anterior Banksian lines absent; presectoral area with five crossveins; RP arising beyond MP fork; pterostigma white; posterior Banksian lines distinct; male with pilula axillaris.

Abdomen (Fig. 13 A View Figure 13 ). Shorter than hindwing, dark brown, densely covered with short hyaline hairs.

Genitalia (Fig. 13 D, E, H – K View Figure 13 ). Ectoproct rectangular, covered with long black setae. Sternite IX narrow, covered with long black setae. Gonarcus pale brown, arched, with long lateral arms. Mediuncus well sclerotized, black, rectangular in ventral view. Parameres well sclerotized, black, triangular in ventral view.

Size. BL: 21.8–24.6 mm; FWL: 22.7–25.7 mm; HWL: 21.0– 23.4 mm.

Female, adult. Except terminalia, generally similar to male. Pilula axillaris absent. Terminalia (Fig. 13 F – G View Figure 13 ): tergite VIII wider than tergite IX; tergite IX narrow, triangular in lateral view; ectoproct semicircular in lateral view; lateral gonapophyses semicircular in lateral view, smaller than ectoproct; posterior gonapophyses long; with long black setae; anterior gonapophyses small, with long black setae; pregenital plate distinct, semicircular, presented on posterior margin of sternite VII.

Size. BL: 21.8–24.6 mm; FWL: 22.7–25.7 mm; HWL: 21.0– 23.4 mm.

Larva, 3 rd instar. General color yellowish white, with dark brown markings (Fig. 14 A – C View Figure 14 ). Head triangular, longer than wide, with an anterior pair of spots and a pale V-shaped marking on dorsal side; with a pair of dark brown spots on ventral side; with a pair of dark brown spots in lateral side; mandibles yellowish white; interdental mandibular setae (7–9) (3) (2) (1); external setae long (Fig. 14 D, E View Figure 14 ). Legs yellowish white (Fig. 14 B, C View Figure 14 ). Abdominal sternite VIII with sparse black setae. Abdominal sternite IX with short dense digging setae in front of rastra; a paired rastra each with four digging setae (Fig. 14 F View Figure 14 ).

Size. BL: 7.8 mm; HL: 1.8 mm, HW: 1.5 mm, ML: 1.9 mm.

Biological notes.

Myrmeleon immanis is distributed some coastal environments of Chungcheongnam-do in South Korea (Fig. 37 B View Figure 37 ). This species has been observed around sandy environments with well-developed coastal dunes. Adults emerge from June in South Korea. Larvae are pit builders. Unlike the larvae of M. bore , which are observed in various sandy environments, the larvae of this species were collected restrictively only in foredunes where Leymus ( Poaceae ) grows (Fig. 36 E View Figure 36 ).

Distribution.

Korea (new record), China, Russia, Mongolia, Romania, Indochina ( Wang et al. 2018).

Remarks.

Myrmeleon immanis is the smallest species of the genus in Korea. In Japan, a morphologically similar species, Myrmeleon solers Walker, 1853 , is known to be distributed. Although M. solers has also been recorded from China by Kuwayama (1959), according to Wang et al. (2018), Chinese specimens of the could not be confirmed, suggesting the possibility that M. solers is an endemic species to Japan.