''Libelloides coccajus'', the "owly sulphur", is an owlfly species belonging to the family

Ascalaphidae Ascalaphidae is a family of insects in the order Neuroptera, commonly called owlflies; there are some 450 extant species. They are fast-flying crepuscular or diurnal predators of other flying insects, and have large bulging eyes and strongly ...

, subfamily

Ascalaphinae Ascalaphini is the type subfamily of the neuropteran owlfly family. Most species are found in the tropics. Their characteristic apomorphy , shared with the Ululodini, is the ridge which divides each of their large compound eyes; both groups are ...

Distribution

This rare insect is present in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Habitat

These owlflies mainly inhabit areas with tall grass and sunny rocky slopes, at an elevation up to above sea level. They have been sighted at elevations of up to 1800m on the French/Italian border in the high Susa Valley

Description

The adults reach of length, with a wingspan of . Galerie-insecte
The body is black and quite hairy. The eyes are large and bulging; the antennae are long and clubbed. The wings do not have scales and are partly transparent, with bright yellow areas in the first third, dark brown on the external side. An elongated black area is present towards the end of the posterior edge of the wing. The venation is black. The wings are held spread at rest, as in dragonflies. This species is rather similar to ''

Libelloides lacteus ''Libelloides'' is a genus of owlflies belonging to the subfamily Ascalaphinae. The species of this genus are present in most of Europe. They inhabit dry meadows or dry coniferous forests. Species * ''Libelloides baeticus'' (Rambur, 1842) * ' ...

''.

Taxonomy

The ''Libelloides italicus''

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

in the

University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum The Copenhagen Zoological Museum (Danish: ''Zoologisk Museum'') is a part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, which is affiliated with the University of Copenhagen. History The Zoological Museum It is among the world's oldest natural hist ...

, does not correspond to any

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species of Ascalaphidae living exclusively in the Italian peninsula and it is now considered to be a junior

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Libelloides coccajus''.Pantaleoni , R. A. and A. Letardi What is the real name of the Italian Ascalaphid ''Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' 48 (Suppl. 2), pp. 253–264, 2002 http://actazool.nhmus.hu/48Suppl2/pantaleo.pdf

Biology

Adults can be encountered from April through July. They are diurnal

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s of other flying insects. Eggs are laid in groups on stems of herbaceous plants. Larvae are fearsome predators too. They lie on the soil surface waiting for prey. They live for about two years. Owly sulphur

Gallery

File:Owlfly (Libelloides coccajus) female with eggs (14503839164).jpg, Female with eggs File:Naturkundliche Sammlung Übermaxx Überseemuseum Bremen 0122.JPG, Museum specimen

References

Neuroptera of Europe Ascalaphidae Insects described in 1775 Libelloides {{Neuroptera-stub