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The order Neuroptera is made up of individuals commonly called lacewings, fishflies, alderflies, and antlions. Sometimes aquatic members of this order are placed in the order Megaloptera, but for the purposes of this course, we'll use the order Neuroptera.
These individuals have holometabolous or complete metamorphosis in that they develop from an egg to a larva that molts several times. Next is the pupal stage followed by as adults. They have two pairs of wings and chewing mouthparts. A distinctive feature is that their wings are described as net-veined, and when folded they are held roof-like over their body.
The illustration for this order shows a lacewing adult female resting on foliage. You can see the net veins and the roof-like disposition of the wings over its body. This particular order is comprised of beneficial individuals and species that inhabit aquatic environments. One example would be the dobsonfly whose immature stage is referred to as the hellgrammite.
There are additional illustrations for this order. One shows a male dobsonfly with its characteristic tusks. Additionally, the darker individual associated with this order is an alderfly whose immature stage develops in rivers and streams.
There are about 4,700 species in this order worldwide with about 350 different species known to occur in North America north of Mexico.
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Goldeneye Lacewing
Order: Neuroptera
Family: Chrysopidae
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