#nymphidae

Location is NSW, Australia.

Insect ID - NSW, Australia:

Hello, yes, I believe that this is a Blue Eyes Lacewing (Nymphes myrmeleonoides), family Nymphidae, order Neuroptera.

I also ran an insect walk for the local council in November, taking interested members of the public for a stroll through the Don Shepherd Reserve in Baldivis. This was one of the prize finds of the day - a Split-foot Lacewing, found only in the vicinity of Perth.

Not actually in the same family as the Antlions, but like them the larvae dig conical pittraps and wait for unwitting prey to fall in.

Blue-eyed Split-footed Lacewing Eggs

Unidentified, genus Nymphes

A large and distinctive Nymphid lacewing, that usually attracts attention whenever it turns up. Which is why the Amateur Entomology Australia Facegroup group has provided me with multiple adults, distinctive egg clusters, and a larva to ID.

Photo below by Natalie Woods, on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Nymphes eggs are laid on stalks , like those of many lacewings, but for some reason they’re laid in a U, which each egg separated from the neighboring stalk by an additional egg. It’s not entirely clear why - lacewings are voracious cannibals from shortly after hatching, but even have a spare sibling to snack on right next door wouldn’t seem to protect who ever hatches from the egg after that. 

Photo below by Michael Gee in Sydney

Nymphid larvae can be distinguished from ant-lions, owlflies, and other lacewing families by the jaws - in the Nymphids, they only have the single pre-apical tooth.

Photos below by Michele Mcleod, who found it in a house in Bentley, NSW, which is a bit odd.

Photo by Brian Everingham, who found it in Sydney under an Cottonwood leaf while gardening, and put it up on Facebook hoping for an ID. I was happy to oblige. :)

Nymphid lacewings are also known as Split-toed Lacewings, and include the Blue-eyed Lacewing Nymphes myrmeleonides, a large yellow lacewing with larva that live in the ground and resemble the traditional antlion (hence the myrmeleonides name). Other Nymphid larvae like the one above - probably a Myiodactylus - lurk on plants, long curved jaws ready to snap on anything that wanders within reach. The fringed edges help break up its outline, making it harder for predators and prey to spot.

Anything unfortunate enough to be caught by the hooked jaws will be drained of its body fluids by other mouthparts, and then discarded. Other families of lacewings might use the shriveled corpse as part of a disguise.

"Blue-eyes Lacewing" (Nymphes mrymeleonides)

...A species of split-footed lacewing that occurs in parts of New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Nymphes mrymeleonides is considered one of the largest lacewings known to science with some individuals boasting a wingspan of 4.3 inches and a body length of 1.6 inches. Like other neuropterans N. myrmeleonides larvae resemble antlions and will construct pit traps by burrowing into loose soil and waiting for unfortunate prey to fall in. Adults likely feed on plant material and small insects like other lacewings.

Classification

Animalia-Arthropoda-Insecta-Neuroptera-Nymphidae-Nymphes-N. myrmelonides