Buzzing Antlion
S2, dorsal
Buzzing Antlion
S3, dorsal, Wings Open
Animals
Plants
Info
| Buzzing Antlion S2, dorsal | | Buzzing Antlion S3, dorsal, Wings Open | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | ||||||||||||
| Order: | Net-winged Insects (Neuroptera) | |||||||||||||
| Family: | Antlion (Myrmeleontidae) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||
| Species: | Buzzing Antlion (Froggattisca sp ES01)| This Photo: | 🔍S3, dorsal🔎 | Thank you Prof Renato Machado for identifying and Ken Harris for helping with the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere 1st Record in SA on Atlas ~18mm - ~21mm long We had 3 come to the night light on one night. Not observed before, with 1 since in 2025. Perhaps they are short lived, so not observed very often? We originally thought these might be Compsoleon bembicidis, or a close relation, based on someone's mis-identified observation. Ken kindly showed our first 3 specimens to Prof Machado, who said "There is something that is very clear in these three, is that they all have the tarsal claws opposable. And for this reason they cannot be placed in Compsoleon. In my view they are all Froggattisca." The long white setae on the fore leg is also diagnostic. On someone else's observation, Prof Machado made the following comments (separating the similar Froggattisca & Compsoleon genera):" Froggattisca: the spurs are absent, and the tarsal claws are capable of closing. Compsoleon: the tibial spurs is diminute and the tarsal claws are not capable of closing." As such, to id Antlions it may be necessary to have good photo's of the feet & legs, as well as wing venation and colour patches.
| |||||||||||