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First records of Neuropterida (Raphidiidae, Chrysopidae) from the island of Tinos, Greece - PARNASSIANA ARCHIVES

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Pierre Tillier at Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Pierre Tillier
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Abstract

The first documented records of Neuropterida in Tinos are presented, including one species of Raphidiidae and four species of Chrysopidae. Notably, among these records, Chrysopa formosa Brauer, 1851, Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix, 1912) and Apertochrysa venusta (Hölzel, 1974) are new records for the Cyclades archipelago.
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PARNASSIANA ARCHIVES
11: 73-76 2023
© Parnassiana Archives 11, 2023
JOURNAL OF KORINTHIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
ISSN (print edition) : 2241-7834
ISSN (online edition) : 2241-7842
– 73 –
FIRST RECORDS OF NEUROPTERIDA (RAPHIDIIDAE,
CHRYSOPIDAE) FROM THE ISLAND OF TINOS, GREECE
Pierre Tillier
Correspondant at Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, 8 rue d’Aire, F-95660 Champagne-sur-Oise, France,
e-mail: p.tillier.entomo@free.fr
Published online: 11 October, 2023
Abstract
The rst documented records of Neuropterida in Tinos are presented, including one species of
Raphidiidae and four species of Chrysopidae. Notably, among these records, Chrysopa formosa
Brauer, 1851, Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix, 1912) and Apertochrysa venusta (Hölzel, 1974) are
new records for the Cyclades archipelago.
Keywords: Aegean islands, Cyclades archipelago, Raphidioptera, Neuroptera, new records.
Introduction
Tinos is an island located in the Cyclades archipelago in the central Aegean Sea. It is situated
approximately 200 kilometers southeast of Athens and covers an area of 195 km², making it one of
the largest islands in the Cyclades. Until now, this island has not been subject to any entomological
surveys regarding Neuropterida. We present the rst data of Neuroptera and Raphidioptera for Tinos,
including one species of Raphidiidae and four species of Chrysopidae.
Material and Methods
All the material was collected on the island of Tinos using a net, between April 26 and May 3, 2023.
Specimens have been preserved in alcohol and are currently deposited in the personal collection of
the author located in Champagne-sur-Oise, France.
Neuropterida of Tinos
– 74 –
Results
RAPHIDIOPTERA
Raphidiidae
Raphidia (Raphidia) mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Rausch, 1977
Ktikádos (Κτικάδος), 02-V-2023, 1 ♀ on a wall in the village; Panormos (Πάνορμος), 28-IV-2023,
1 ♂ on a wall in the village; idem, 29-IV-2023, 1 ♂; Triantaros (Τριαντάρος), 01-V-2023, 1 ♀ on a
wall in the village (Fig. 1A).
Raphidia (R.) mediterranea is a pontomediterranean species, known from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece
(including many islands), Hungary, Italy and Romania (Aspöck et al. 2001). In Eastern and Central
Europe, in Italy, in NW-Anatolia and also on some islands, the occurrence of this species is to be
traced back to a human-caused introduction (Aspöck et al. 2017, Aspöck & Aspöck 2023). In the
Cyclades archipelago, the species was already known from Andros, Naxos and Paros (Aspöck &
Aspöck 2023). These are the rst records for Tinos. Based on the information available, R. (R.)
mediterranea is the sole species of Raphidioptera known in the Cyclades archipelago (Aspöck &
Aspöck 2023).
NEUROPTERA
Chrysopidae
Chrysopa formosa Brauer, 1851
Kampos (Κάμπος), 01-V-2023, 1 ♂ on a wall in the village.
This is a widspread and common species in north Africa, Asia (to Japan) and Europe (Aspöck et al.
2001). This record in Tinos is the rst data for this species for the Cyclades archipelago.
Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix, 1912)
Karkádos (Καρκάδος), 01-V-2023, 1 ♂ along a stream.
Chrysoperla lucasina is a holomediterranean species (Aspöck et al. 2001). In Greece, the species
was already known from mainland (Attica, Peloponnese, Thessaly), Lemnos (Aegean Sea) and Crete
(Henry et al. 1996). This record in Tinos is the rst data for this species for the Cyclades archipelago.
Apertochrysa genei (Rambur, 1842)
Agios Romanos (Άγιος Ρωμανός), 30-IV-2004, 1 ♂ in a dry grassland area with a few trees.
Apertochrysa genei is a holomediterranean species, widespread in Greece (Santas 1984) and already
known from the Cyclades (Aspöck et al. 1980).
Apertochrysa venusta (Hölzel, 1974)
Tripotamos (Τριπόταμος), 02-V-2023, 1 ♂ on a wall in the village (Fig. 1B)
Apertochrysa venusta is a scarce Mediterranean species, known from few stations in south Europe
(France, Greece, Italy) and western Asia (Cyprus) (Aspöck et al. 1980, 2001, Canard 2001, Canard et
al. 2007, Hölzel 1974, Pantaleoni & Letardi 2021, Tillier 2008). In Greece, the species was already
known from Attica, Peloponnese and Crete (Aspöck et al. 1980, Canard 2001). This record in Tinos
is the rst data for this species for the Cyclades archipelago.
Parnassiana Archives 11
– 75 –
Discussion
A short trip to the island of Tinos allowed the discovery of one species of Raphidiidae and four
species of Chrysopidae. These data represent the rst records of Neuropterida for this island. Among
these species, three are new to the Cyclades. This demonstrates the lack of knowledge regarding
this group in this archipelago (less than 25 species recorded : Aspöck et al. 1980, current study) and
suggests the potential for new discoveries through further entomological surveys.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Horst Aspöck (Medical University of Vienna, Austria)
for providing informations about Neuropterida in the Cyclades and Dusan Devetak for reviewing the
manuscript.
Fig. 1. Neuropterida, Tinos Island, v.2023. A. Raphidia (Raphidia) mediterranea ♀, Triantaros. B. Apertochrysa venusta
♂, Tripotamos.
Α Β
Neuropterida of Tinos
– 76 –
Literature
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Raphidioptera, Megaloptera, Neuroptera) der Westpaläarktis. - Denisia 2: 1-606.
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ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
The snakeflies of the Mediterranean islands: review and biogeographical analysis (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera)
Article
Full-text available
The Mediterranean region representsone of the hotspots of biodiversity of many organisms and among these also of Raphidioptera. With about 250 known species world-wide Raphidioptera is the smallest order of extant holometabolous insects. The Mediterranean region harbors 113 species (= >45% of the world fauna), and of these 33 (= >13% of the world fauna) have been found on islands of the Mediterranean Sea. In the course of the past 50 years most of the larger islands have been intensively explored for Raphidioptera, particularly all islands (except the Baleares) which had no connection to the mainland throughout the whole Pleistocene. Altogether, 11 species of Raphidioptera (9 Raphidiidae, 2 Inocelliidae) are endemic to (usually)one, rarely to a few Mediterranean islands: Phaeostigma (Ph.) euboica (Euboea), Ph. (Aegeoraphidia) prophetica (Rhodes), Ph. (Ae.) karpathana (Karpathos), Ph. (Ae.) biroi (Crete), Ph. (Superboraphidia) minois (Crete), Subilla principiae (Sardinia), S. colossea (Rhodes), Raphidia (R.) peterressli (Chios), R. (R.) ariadne (Crete), Fibla (F.) maclachlani (Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily), F. (Reisserella) pasiphae (Crete). In the Aegean Sea there is a remarkable difference between the eastern and the western islands marked by the so-called Rechinger line based on results of the analysis of the flora. The Raphidioptera confirm this line impressively. It is rather unlikely that further Raphidioptera species endemic to Mediterranean islands are still to be detected – with one exception: the Baleares. A few additional species known from various parts of the continents surrounding the Mediterranean Sea will probably be found on islands so that a total number may be around 40, possibly around 45 species. The possible ways and times of colonization of the islands by Raphidioptera are discussed. The present paper may serve as a basis for studies on natural and particularly on anthropogenic dispersals of snakeflies from island to island, from mainland to islands, and from islands to the mainland in connection with phylogeographic investigations.
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Anthropogenic dispersal of a snakefly (Insecta, Neuropterida) - A singular phenomenon or a model case in Raphidioptera?
Article
Full-text available
The Mediterranean snakefly Raphidia mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Rausch, 1977 – known from many parts of the Balkan Peninsula, several Aegean islands, southern parts of Italy, northwest of Anatolia and a few localities in Eastern Europe, yet not recorded in Central Europe – was surprisingly found with an astoundingly high population density on bushes in the yard of an old farmhouse at a comparatively high altitude (800 m) in Upper Austria, north of the Danube River, in 2013. This spectacular phenomenon was again observed in the following years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), and in 2016 the suspicion that the larvae develop in the straw of the thatched roof of the farmhouse could be confirmed by findings of larvae, pupae, and exuviae.It is most likely, that the occurrence of this Raphidia species in Austria is to be traced back to a human-caused introduction at some point in time. It remains, however, unknown when and specifically how this event might have occurred. Morphologically no substantial differences were found between specimens from Greece, Italy and Upper Austria. In addition, the genetic uniformity (using 3 genes: cox1, cox3, and 28S) of the populations was verified. This supports an earlier hypothesis that the occurrence of the species, as well as that of R. mediterranea in Italy, Anatolia and perhaps elsewhere, may be related to importation of goods involving wood or soil. A molecular genetic analysis of several Raphidia species confirmed the present morphology-based concept of their systematic position. The means of dispersal of Raphidioptera are largely unknown. We do not know of any other similar cases of anthropogenic dispersal of a snakefly, but it cannot be excluded that human activities may have played a greater role in the dispersal of Raphidioptera than previously assumed. Phylogenomic studies would therefore be promising to solve some of these questions.
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