Panorpa consuetudinis Snodgrass, 1927
Diagnosis: This is a species in which males have sigmoidally curved ventral parameres with tufts of long bristles along its length. Panorppa consuetudinis has tufts of long bristles at mid-length, subapically, and apically.
Distribution – Geographical: This species is found along the east coast of the U.S.A. from Connecticut south to South Carolina and westward to Indiana and Mississippi.
Distribution – Temporal: May to September.
Ecology: Nothing is known of immature stages or life history.
Biology: Nothing is known of immature stages or life history.
Notes: Panorpa elaborata Carpenter, 1931 was synonymized with Panorpa consuetudinis Snodgrass, 1927 by Byers (1974). This is an interesting nomenclatorial problem because Snodgrass (1927) used this name for the first time, along with drawings in 1927. However, current identification relies heavily on elements of the male genitalia and these illustrations were not published until Snodgrass’ 1935 edition. There is only one other species of North American Panorpa with tufts of long bristles along the length of the ventral parameres (P. isolata). Panorpa consuetudinis has three such tufts: one at mid-length, one
subapically, and one apically; while Panorpa isolata only has the apical and subapical tufts.
References:
Byers, G.W. 1954. Notes on North American Mecoptera. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 47:484-510.
-----. 1974. Synonymy in North American Panorpidae (Mecoptera). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, 47:22-25.
Carpenter, F.M. 1931. Revision of the Nearctic Mecoptera. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 72:205-277.
Snodgrass, R.E. 1927. Morphology and Mechanism of the Insect Thorax. Smithsonian miscellaneous Collections, 80(1):1-108.
-----. 1935. Principles of Insect Morphology. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York. 667 pp., 319 figures.
