Researchers of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, have found a rare species of Mantid lacewing for the first time in Kerala.
The species, Mantispilla indica (Westwood), was found by the research team of the Shadpada Entomology Research Lab of Christ College from Mulangunnathukavu and Irinjalakuda areas of Thrissur district.
The discovery by research student Suryanarayanan T.B. and Assistant Professor Bijoy C. has been published in the latest issue of Journal of Threatened Taxa, a national scientific journal.
This tiny (10 mm) insect belongs to the family Mantispidae of order Neuroptera, represented by four subfamilies and 410 species worldwide, of which only 17 species, representing a single subfamily Mantispinae, are known so far from India.
“They are commonly called Mantispids or Mantid lacewings due to the morphological resemblance with praying mantis of order Mantodea in their raptorial forelegs. They are distinguished by their net-like wings. The taxonomy of this group is least studied either due to the short lifespan of adults or due to their very low population density,” said Dr. Bijoy.
The first instar larvae of Mantid lacewings are parasites of spiders and have a complicated development called hypermetamorphosis.
Funded by CSIR
As per published literature, this is the third species reported from Kerala after Euclimacia nodosa (Westwood) and Mantispa cora Newman. Mantispilla indica is characterised by a black antenna except for two basal segments. The research was funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The same research team had found Thread-winged lacewing (family: Nemopteridae, order: Neuroptera) in State sometime ago. Croce filipennis was the species found in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district and Pudunagaram in Palakkad.
