Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability

Neopanorpa formosana  (Navás, 1911)

Diagnosis:  Vertex dark brown medially; orange laterally beside compound eyes.  Meso- and metanota entirely dark brown.  Wing apical band present, often with pale spot in middle; pterostigmal band caudally forked, uninterrupted; basal band usually reduced to two large spots; marginal spots and other spots basal to basal band absent.  Male notal organ narrowly elongate, extended to apex of 4^th abdominal tergite.  Male hypovalves with oval opening medially near base; apically tapered to point just beyond base of dististyles.

Distribution – Geographical: Navás (1911) originally recorded both ♂♂ and ♀♀ of this species from Tainan [City, Tainan County], 23°00’44”N, 120°11’15”E (LNC).  Esben-Petersen (1912) records this species from Taihorin (= Taihorinsho = Taihorinyo = Dalin, Chiayi County), January 1910, H. Sauter, 3♀♀ (DEI).  Esben-Petersen (1921) mentions specimens from Toyen mongai (= Toenmongai = Yungfu Road, Tainan City, 22.9931°N, 120.201105°E), 1♀ (Berlin); and Taihorin, May 1910, 1♀ (Berlin).  Issiki and Cheng (1947) record a single specimen from Mushi (= Musya = Musha = Wushe, Ren-ai, Nantou County, 24.02655°N, 121.11753°E, 22 May 1947, F.Y. Cheng, 1♀ (NTU).  Yie (1951) recorded this species from Rengeji, >1000 m, April.  Byers (2002) noted a considerable number of collections across Taiwan: Ilan County, Fushan Forest Research Centre, 610 m, 14 April 1998, R.B. Miller & L.A. Stange (FSCA); Kaohsiung County, Lukuei Forest Station, 23.00944°N, 120.6328°E, 750 m, 29April – 3 May 1989, J. Heppner & H.-Y. Wang (FSCA); Kaohsiung Co., Tsulunshan, 1500 m, 1 May 1989, J. Heppner & H.-Y. Wang (FSCA);  Taoyuan County, Upper Paling, (= Shangbaling), 600 m, 11 April 1998, R.B. Miller, L.A. Stange, & H.-Y. Wang (FSCA); Taoyuan County, San Min (= Sanmin Village, Fusing Township), 300 m, 4 May 1998, R.B. Miller, L.A. Stange, & H. –Y. Wang (FSCA).  There is in the California Academy of Sciences specimens of this species from:  Mizuho (RuisuiTownship, Hualien County, 23.5177°N, 121.4116°E), 21 April 1932, J.L. Gressitt, 1♂ (CAS); Rokki, Liugui Township, Kaohsiung County, 16 May 1934, J.L. Gressitt, 1♀ (CAS); Suisha, (= Shuishe,  Nantou County), 1 June 1934, J.L. Gressitt, 1♂ (CAS); Ilan County, Fushan Forest Research Centre, 24°45.597’N, 121°35.267’E, 668 m, 15 May 2010, A. & N. Penny, and Y.-L. Chen, 2♀♀ (CAS); Nantou County, Lienhuachih Forest Research Centre, 23°55’30”N, 120°53’24”E, 25 April 2010, A. & N. Penny, and Y.-L. Chen, 1♂, 2♀♀ (CAS).

Distribution – Temporal:  This species appears to emerge as adults during the first half of the year, with peak emergence coming in May.

Ecology:  This species can be found in moist, lowland, forests from 300 to 1500 m elevation.

Biology:  Yie (1951) indicates that there are 20.0 eggs per egg cluster.  The morphology and development of the immature stages is discussed.

Notes:  Esben-Petersen (1921) indicated that the type was a ♀ although this was not explicitly stated in the original description.

References:

Byers, G.W.  1994.  Taiwanese species of Neopanorpa (Insecta: Mecoptera: Panorpidae).  Annals of the Carnegie Museum  63(2):185-192.

Esben-Petersen, P. 1912. H. Sauter's Formosa-Ausbeute. Neuroptera Planipennia [1]. Entomologische Mitteilungen,1:197-198.

Issiki, S. and F.-Y. Cheng. 1947. Formosan Mecoptera with Descriptions of New Species. Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, national Taiwan University, 1:1-17.

Navás, L. 1911  Névroptères nouveaux de l'extrème Orient. Revue Russe d'Entomologie [=Russkoe Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie] 11:111-117. 6 figures. 

Yie, S.-T. 1951. The Biology of Formosan Panorpidae and Morphology of Eleven Species of their immature Stages. Memoirs of the College of Agriculture, National Taiwan University, 2(4):1-111.