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Home > Metazoa > Arthropoda > Insecta > Hymenoptera > Heloridae
Helorus anomalipes
Common Lacewing Wasp
Gemeine Florfliegenwespe

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Subspecies
No subspecies are recognized.


Synonyms
Sphex anomalipes Panzer, 1798
Oxyurus anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus anomalipes anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus ater Latreille, 1802
Copelus paradoxus Provancher, 1881 (unclear synonym)
Helorus paradoxus (Provancher, 1881)
Helorus anomalipes bifoveolata Gregor, 1938
Helorus coruscus nigrotibia Hellen, 1941 (unclear synonym)
Helorus coruscus auct. nec Haliday, 1857 (misidentification)
Helorus corruscus auct. nec Dalla-Torre, 1898, nec Haliday, 1857 (misidentification, misspelling)

The epithet nigrotibia has been described as a race of Helorus coruscus, but is placed in the synonymy of Helorus anomalipes by Townes (1977). However, it might as well be a synonym of Helorus nigripes. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the types are not known and the nature of nigrotibia cannot be established.

The taxon Copelus paradoxus is placed in the synonymy of Helorus anomalipes by Townes (1977). However, this taxon has been described from Canada and thus quite a distance from the type locality of Sphex anomalipes (Germany). Indeed, Townes (1977) finds that nearctic specimens of his Helorus anomalipes constantly differ from the European ones. It seems likely, therefore, that the Nearctic records represent a separate bona species for which the name Helorus paradoxus would apply.

Helorus nigripes, that has been described by Foerster in 1856, has sometimes been considered to be identical or a form of Helorus anomalipes. However, as already stated by Townes (1977), the original description by Foerster very clearly mentions the coarse rugose structure of the cuticle of the mesonotum, that is characteristic of this species and I follow Townes (1977) in synonymizing Helorus nigripes and Helorus rugosus.

Several authors have recognized the variability of coloration and cuticle sculpture in this species (e.g. Pschorn-Walcher 1955), while the other species of the genus are much less variable. This could indicate that the species Helorus anomalipes in reality consists of several cryptic species. Alternatively, it has been argued that the other species fall into the variability within Helorus anomalipes and should all be synonymized (e.g. Schmiedeknecht 1907). This uncertainty about the nature of Helorus anomalipes is also the reason why so many misidentifications have occurred in the past (see also synonymy lists of the other species of this genus). The Helorus species that are recognized here are confidently considered as bonae species. The question whether further cryptic species may be contained in Helorus anomalipes awaits further studies.

Original spelling: Sphex anomalipes
Panzer GWF (1798). Faunae Insectorum Germaniae. Heft 52, plate 23 and legend.
Locus typicus: "Germania" (at Panzer´s time comprising most of Central Europe, but here interpreted as Germany), no specific location given. The whereabouts of the type specimen(s) are not known.


Identification
Forewing length: 3,1 to 3,8 mm. Very variable in terms of color and cuticle sculpture. It can be distinguished from the other German species by its short and broad petiolus and the pterostigma, which is the longest and thinnest of all German species.


Distribution
Widely distributed in Europe. Recorded from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech and Slovak Republic, Scandinavia, France, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, the Balcans, and the UK. Also recorded from the Lebanon, Turkey and Mongolia. The records from northern America may refer to a different species (see above).
Germany: Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg and Berlin, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern.


Biology
The commonest German species, but it appears to avoid dry habitats; this may be due to the biology of the host species that prefers forest or bush habitats. Adults have been collected in June to October, with a maximum in August. In Europe the species appears to parasitize exclusively in the lacewing Chrysoperla carnea (or at least in a species of this species complex). However, there are also unconfirmed reports of the host Dichochrysa prasina (Pschorn-Walcher 1955). The record of Hemerobius spec. as a host (Kieffer 1914) is either  based on a misidentification of the host, or caused by a misapplication of the genus name, because the genus name Hemerobius was frequently used for true lacewings (e.g. Chrysoperla and Chrysopa) in the 19th and early 20th century. For the American specimens (which may be a separate species; see above) the species Chrysopa nigricornis Burmeister, 1839 (=Chrysopa majuscula) has been reported.


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Female imago. After Pschorn-Walcher (1971).





Shape of the pterostigma of the different German species of Helorus. Shown is the pterostigma of the left forewing. After Pschorn-Walcher (1971).




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This page has been updated on August 31, 2013
This site is online since May 31, 2005
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