Due to a great dispersal ability and small size, insects are probably among the first island colonisers. Chrysoperla carnea sensu lato was for long considered the sole member of the Chrysopidae family in the Azores (Portugal) since it has been regarded as a complex of sibling species in Europe and North America. Its separation into different morphotypes is based on a set of pre-determined morphological traits. Their analysis leads to appraise Azorean Chrysopidae origin, comparing insular and mainland populations. Two outside
“carnea complex” species, namely the Nearctic C. rufilabris and the Neotropical C.
externa, were also examined to validate the method. Data analysis resulted in grouping
separately the two out-group species as expected, and clearly joins insular and Palaearctic specimens of C. lucasina. Chrysoperla agilis, although known to be present in the Azores through courtship song analysis, is morphologically similar to the two other Palaearctic species, which confirms the continental Palaearctic origin of the common green lacewings in the Azores. Madeira has probably served as a stepping-stone to the Azorean colonisation
