Alderfly
| Alderfly | |
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| Adult Sialis lutaria | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Megaloptera |
| Family: | Sialidae Leach, 1815 |
| Subfamilies | |
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See text | |
Alderflies are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric . All living alderflies – about 66 species all together[1] – are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains between one and seven extant genera according to different scientists' views.[citation needed]
Description[]
Sialinae have a body length of less than 25 mm (1 inch), long filamentous antennae, and four large dark wings of which the anterior pair is slightly longer than the posterior. They lack ocelli and their fourth tarsal segment is dilated and deeply bilobed. Dead alderfly larvae are used as bait in fishing.[2]
Life cycle[]
The females lay a vast number of eggs on grass stems near water. When the larvae are born they drop into the water or the ground nearby it and make their way into their new aquatic biome. The larvae are aquatic, active, armed with strong sharp mandibles, and breathe by means of seven pairs of abdominal branchial filaments. When full sized, which takes between one and two years, they leave the water and spend a quiescent pupal stage on the land before metamorphosis into the sexually mature insect. Adult alderflies stay near to the water in which they had lived when they were younger. Once in their adult stage, they tend to live only 2 to 3 weeks, which they spend mainly in reproducing.
Classification[]
In addition to the seven living genera,[3] there are several genera of fossil alderflies.
Family Sialidae
- Subfamily † (basal within Sialidae)
- Genus †
- Subfamily Sialinae
- Genus Tillyard, [1919]
- Species Tillyard, [1919]
- Species Theischinger, 1983
- Genus † Nel et al., 2002
- Species † Nel et al., 2002
- Genus Lestage, 1927
- Species X.-y. Liu et al., 2006
- Species Nel, 1988
- Species X.-y. Liu et al., 2008
- Species (Banks, 1920)
- Genus Esben-Petersen, 1920
- Species Esben-Petersen, 1920
- Genus Kuwayama, 1962
- Species Kuwayama, 1964
- Species (Okamoto, 1910)
- Subspecies (Okamoto, 1910)
- Subspecies Hayashi & Suda, 1995
- Species (Okamoto, 1910)
- Genus † Nel, 1988
- Species † Nel, 1988
- Genus van der Weele, 1909
- Species Navás, (1936)
- Species (Rambur, 1842)
- Species (Tillyard, [1919)
- Species Navás, 1927
- Species † (Wichard, 1997)
- Species (Hagen, 1861)
- Species Banks, 1920
- Species Navás, 1936
- Species †Protosialis casca (Engel & Grimaldi, 2007)
- Species (McLachlan, (1871)
- Species Penny, (1982)
- Species (Enderlein, 1910)
- Species Contreras-Ramos et al., 2005
- Species Navás, 1927
- Species (Banks, 1901)
- Species Banks, 1920
- Species Navás, 1933
- Species Contreras-Ramos, 2006
- Species † (Wichard & Engel, 2006)
- Genus Sialis Latreille, 1802
- Species Approximately 90
- Species Vshivkova, 1985
- Species Banks, 1920
- Species (Rambur, 1842)
- Species Vshivkova, 1979
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Navás, (1928)
- Species Hayashi & Suda, 1997
- Species Say, 1823
- Species Whiting, 1991
- Species Banks, 1920
- Species McLachlan, (1871)
- Species Banks, 1897
- Species Flint, 1964
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Navás, 1916
- Species Vshivkova, 1985
- Species Say, 1823
- Species Flint, 1964
- Species X.-y. Liu & D. Yang, 2006
- Species Enderlein, 1910
- Species Esben-Petersen, 1913
- Species Okamoto, 1905
- Species F. Pictet, 1836
- Species Navás, 1915
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Vshivkova, 1985
- Species † Wichard, 1997
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species X.-y. Liu & D. Yang, 2006
- Species † Wichard, 2002
- Species Say, 1823
- Species Say, 1823
- Species Newman, 1838
- Species Sialis iola Ross, 1937
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species van der Weele, 1909
- Species D. Yang et al., 2002
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Vshivkova, 1985
- Species X.-y. Liu & D. Yang, 2006
- Species Vshivkova, 1980
- Species Klingstedt, (1932)
- Species Sialis lutaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Species Vshivkova, 1980
- Species Nakahara, 1915
- Subspecies Hayashi & Suda, 1995
- Subspecies Nakahara, 1915
- Subspecies Hayashi & Suda, 1995
- Subspecies Hayashi & Suda, 1995
- Species Sialis mohri Ross, 1937
- Species Klingstedt, (1933)
- Species K. Davis, 1903
- Species Nel, 1988
- Species K. Davis, 1903
- Species E. Pictet, 1865
- Species Townsend, 1939
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species Banks, 1920
- Species McLachlan, 1872
- Species Banks, (1940)
- Species Klingstedt, (1933)
- Species Flint, 1964
- Species Illies, 1967
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species U. Aspöck & H. Aspöck, 1983
- Species Ross, 1937
- Species X.-y. Liu & D. Yang, 2006
- Species Hayashi & Suda, 1995
- Species Vshivkova, 1985
- Genus Tillyard, (1919)
- Species Tillyard, (1919)
- Species Theischinger, 1983
- Genus Tillyard, [1919]
Sialis lutaria is the commonest alderfly in the United Kingdom[4] and across much of Europe.
References[]
- ^ Engel, M.S.; Grimaldi D.A. (2007). "The neuropterid fauna of Dominican and Mexican amber (Neuropterida, Megaloptera, Neuroptera)". American Museum Novitates (3587): 1–58. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2007)3587[1:TNFODA]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5880.
- ^ fly fishing entomology alderfy entry
- ^ "Salidae genera list". Lacewing Digital Library. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014.
- ^ Arkive (2006): Alderfly - Sialis lutaria. Retrieved 28 June 2006.
External links[]
Media related to Sialidae at Wikimedia Commons
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Look up alderfly in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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- Megaloptera
- Aquatic insects