Berothidae

The Berothidae are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. They are known commonly as the beaded lacewings.[1] The family was first named by Anton Handlirsch in 1906.[2]

Berothidae Temporal range: Late Jurassic–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Spermophorella sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Neuroptera
Suborder:	Hemerobiiformia
Superfamily:	Mantispoidea
Family:	Berothidae Handlirsch, 1906
Subfamilies
Cyrenoberothinae Berothinae Nosybinae Nyrminae Protobiellinae Trichomatinae and see text

Berothidae is very closely related to the thorny lacewings which are often included in the Berothidae as subfamily "Rhachiberothinae". They are also occasionally considered to be the distinct family Rhachiberothidae or included as a subfamily in the mantidflies.[2] The family consists of 22 genera and 100 living species distributed discontinuously worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions.[2] Eleven extinct genera with a total of 13 species have been described from the fossil record.[2]

The larvae are associated with termites.[1]

Systematics

The peculiar genus Lomamyia cannot be robustly assigned to any one subfamily. In addition, a considerable fossil diversity of beaded lacewings is known from the Late Jurassic onwards, containing numerous genera which are likewise basal or incertae sedis:

• Oloberotha Ren & Guo, 1996 (Late Jurassic; China)
• Banoberotha
• Jersiberotha
• Nascimberotha
• Microberotha
• Proberotha

References

1. Winterton, Shaun L. (2010). "A new species of Stenobiella Tillyard (Neuroptera, Berothidae) from Australia". ZooKeys (64): 1–8. doi:10.3897/zookeys.64.403. PMC 3088400. PMID 21594021.
2. Archibald, S.B.; Makarkin, V.N. (February 2004). "New genus of minute Berothidae (Neuroptera) from Early Eocene amber of British Columbia" (PDF). The Canadian Entomologist. 136 (1): 61–76. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.552.2285. doi:10.4039/n03-043. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-18.

• Bugguide.net. Family Berothidae - Beaded Lacewings