''Distoleon tetragrammicus'' is a species of antlion in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Myrmeleontinae Myrmeleontinae is a subfamily of Myrmeleontidae The antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap p ...

Distribution

''Distoleon tetragrammicus'' is widespread in the western

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and it is present in most of Southern Europe and in North Africa.

Habitat

This species can be found in a wide range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountain forests, mainly in arid and sandy areas, in oak and pine forests and in various calcareous wasteland with minimum moisture. The larvae avoid exposed sites as coastal dunes.

Description

Myrmeleontidae - Distoleon tetragrammicus

The adults of ''Distoleon tetragrammicus'' greatly resemble

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

. They have a wingspan of about . The front wing can reach a width of . They have thick, prominent, apically clubbed antennae, a long, narrow abdomen and two pairs of long, transparent, multiveined

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, with some brown and opaque spots. This species is sometimes confused with ''Myrmeleon formicarius''. The larvae do not look anything like adults. The length of a fully grown larva is typically . The basic body color is dark brown with darker markings. The head is dark brown. The strong dark brown mandibles do not show long bristles outside the margins. Pronotum is covered by large black setae and short bristles. The dorsal side of abdomen has a series of circular markings and a characteristic dorsal median stripe. Mesothoracic and abdominal spiracles are brown. Legs may be yellowish or whitish.BADANO D. & PANTALEONI R. A., 2014. �
The larvae of European Myrmeleontida
/ref>

Biology

The adults of ''Distoleon tetragrammicus'' appear in the middle of the summer and fly from June to August. They are attracted to light. The life cycle begins with oviposition by the female into sand. Larvae of this species don't build craters or pit traps. They live buried in dry ground and may be errant. They are voracious predators, feeding on small insects and other small

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s that they catch with their powerful jaws. After one year the larva retreats into a cocoon and metamorphoses into an adult.

References

Bibliography

* Michael Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe occidentale, Paris, Flammarion, août 2012, 320 p. (), p. 104-105 * Bollettino dell'Istituto di entomologia "Guido Grandi" della Università degli studi di Bologna, Vol. 48-49, Tip. Compositori, 1994. * Oswald, J. D. (2007). Neuropterida Species of the World. * Navás, L. (1921) Sur des Névroptères nouveaux ou critiques. Troisème IIsérie., Annales de la Société Scientifique de Bruxelles 40(pt. 2):225-232. * Navás, L. (1914) Neurópteros nuevos o poco conocidos (Tercera IIserie)., Memorias de la Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona (3)11:193-215. * Eversmann, E. (1841) Quaedam insectorum species novae, in Rossia orientali observatae, nunc descriptae et depictae., Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 14:351-360. * Olivier, G. A. (1811) Encyclopedie méthodique. Histoire naturelle. Vol. 8 (Insectes). Paris., * Fabricius, J. C. (1798) Supplementum entomologiae systematicae. Hafniae., {{Taxonbar, from=Q1654260 Myrmeleontinae Insects of Africa Insects described in 1798 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Neuroptera of Europe