ABSTRACT
The family Chrysopidae is part of Neuroptera (or Planipennia), one of the oldest holometabolous orders (insects with complete metamorphosis); its fossil record extends back to the late Paleozoic-the Permian period, about 270 million years ago (Grimaldi and Engel 2005). Of the more than 6000 known neuro pteran species, approximately 1200 belong to Chrysopidae; it is the order’s second largest family (Myrmeleontidae, the largest, contains about 2100 species). Currently, Chrysopidae includes three subfamilies: Nothochrysinae, Apochrysinae, and Chrysopinae; the latter contains 97% of the known species (Tauber et al. 2009). Chrysopids occur on all continents except Antarctica; interestingly, native species are unknown in New Zealand (Duelli 2001). While some species have broad distributions, for example, Chrysoperla externa (Hagen), which is present throughout most of the Neotropical region, many are restricted to small areas of the planet (Zeleny 1984; Tauber et al. 2009).
