Snake-flies, alderflies, lacewings and scorpion flies in Essex
It is regrettable that the paucity of records available for most species of Neuropterida precludes the
use of Harvey's categories to full effect in this present review. Nevertheless, the entries under the
heading "County status" in my list below reflect perceived status as follows:
Essex Rarity - based upon existing data and a philosophical assessment of the likely level of under-
recording of the particular species under discussion.
Essex Threat - again based on existing data and presumed level of under-recording, but with the
benefit of a wider personal knowledge of the status and distribution of the species
concerned in the rest of Britain and, where both appropriate and known, a knowledge
of any specific limiting ecological factors.
These categories are presented in the list separated by a slash, according to the following plan:
Predicted county status: Rarity/Threat
Where a species is not considered to be under any threat the second half of the entry is furnished
with a dash. It is important to understand that in the present study the categorisations are based to a
considerable extent on predicted distribution patterns rather than on actual data, accompanied by a
liberal quantity of interpretation based upon a wider experience of the national situation. Although
it is likely that many will prove to be correct, it is equally possible that some will be proved wrong.
The distribution maps
Distribution maps accompany all species apart from the unreliably recorded Chrysopa phyllochroma.
These indicate the presence of at least one record in the tetrad (2 Km x 2 Km grid square) indicated,
in two date bands: solid dots indicate records made between 1st January 1980 and 31st December
2000, whilst open circles indicate records made on or before 31st December 1979.
An annotated list of the Neuropterida and Mecoptera of Essex
NEUROPTERIDA
Order RAPHIDIOPTERA
Formerly, the Raphidiidae were considered to belong to the sub order Raphidioidea of the
Megaloptera, but the latter name is now reserved for the alderflies. Current thinking (e.g. Aspock et
al. 1980) places the Raphidiidae, and the sister family Inocelliidae, in a separate Order - the
Raphidioptera. There are in the order of six hundred or so species worldwide with just over seventy
in Europe. Four species of Raph idi idae are present in Britai n, but the Inocelliidae are not represented
here. The name Raphidioptera is evidently a convenient construction from the generic Raphidia (see
below) and the Greek pteron = a wing.
Family RAPHIDIIDAE —the Snake-flies
Snake-flies are characterised by an elongated pronotum which is supposed to give the insect a snake-
like appearance; an apparent alternative name for the group is the camel neck-flies, which probably
stems from the German name "Kamelhalsfliegen". Interesting, in Spanish they are called "Moscas
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)