New Philippine species of Spilosmylus Kolbe (Neuroptera, Osmylidae)

New species of lance lacewings, Spilosmylus spilopteryx sp. n. and Spilosmylus tephrodestigma sp. n., are described from the Philippines and compared with congeners. Both species are characterised by a distinctive wing pattern, which in the case of Spilosmylus spilopteryx sp. n. is relatively spectacular among lacewings. An identification key to the species of Spilosmylus Kolbe known from the Philippines is also provided

Fossil record of stem groups employed in evaluating the chronogram of insects (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)

Insecta s. str. (=Ectognatha), comprise the largest and most diversified group of living organisms, accounting for roughly half of the biodiversity on Earth. Understanding insect relationships and the specific time intervals for their episodes of radiation and extinction are critical to any comprehensive perspective on evolutionary events. Although some deeper nodes have been resolved congruently, the complete evolution of insects has remained obscure due to the lack of direct fossil evidence. Besides, various evolutionary phases of insects and the corresponding driving forces of diversification remain to be recognized. In this study, a comprehensive sample of all insect orders was used to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and estimate deep divergences. The phylogenetic relationships of insect orders were congruently recovered by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses. A complete timescale of divergences based on an uncorrelated log-normal relaxed clock model was established among all lineages of winged insects. The inferred timescale for various nodes are congruent with major historical events including the increase of atmospheric oxygen in the Late Silurian and earliest Devonian, the radiation of vascular plants in the Devonian, and with the available fossil record of the stem groups to various insect lineages in the Devonian and Carboniferous. © The Author(s) 2016

Diverse Cretaceous larvae reveal the evolutionary and behavioural history of antlions and lacewings

Larvae of the Myrmeleontiformia, which include antlions, are not well preserved in much of the fossil record. Here, Badano et al. describe a collection of predatory myrmeleontiform larvae from Cretaceous amber, resolving their evolutionary relationships and inferring their ecology