Porismus strigatus
1 Pied Lacewing at Undefined Area
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| Porismus strigatus | MichaelMulvaney | 31 Mar 2021 | |
| Porismus strigatus | jb2602 | 30 Mar 2021 |
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User's notes
Approaching dusk, about 50 Pied Lacewings were observed fluttering about in the tree canopy. Many landed on the trunks of trees below and this is what happened. 1. Pointing up trunk with antennae waving, presumably sensing pheromones; 2. A partner comes in head to head; 3. A bit of a flutter and the female grabs one of the male's antennae with her upper elbow; 4. She drags him down the trunk 10-20 cm; 5. There is a stand-off where they remain in this grip for a long time (even up to an hour); 6. They eventually join abdomens, aligned parallel, with her still holding on to his antenna; 7. When uncoupled, she draws her abdomen up to her mouth and manipulates a gel scak.
4 comments
30 Mar 2021
I am gad to see that you have seen the remarkable mating aggregations of this lacewing that I reported in my Insect book (Page 41), and have seen more details including a mating reward also found in Tettogoniids. Great observations
30 Mar 2021
Its the spermatophore produced by the male and enclosing the sperm. I checked Google Scholar and there are a couple of references of female Neuroptera eating the spermatophore. I am familiar with the well documented situation in Tettigoniids where there are images available.
As an aside, one of my first scientific papers was on the spermatophore of Tetrix (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) published in 1963! Entomol. Mon. Mag. 99, 217-23. (=58 years of publishing!)
As an aside, one of my first scientific papers was on the spermatophore of Tetrix (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) published in 1963! Entomol. Mon. Mag. 99, 217-23. (=58 years of publishing!)
22 Mar 2024
Originally I thought that the female would be larger than the male but I now think that the reverse is true.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.155495-35.264352
- Maps Mount Ainslie
Sighting information
- 50 Abundance
- 29 Mar 2021 06:09 PM Recorded on
- jb2602 Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
- Breeding behaviour Breeding behaviour
Collections
- jb2602 Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Other Lacewings (several families) Lacewings (Neuroptera) Insects Porismus strigatus
Species information
- Porismus strigatus Scientific name
- Pied Lacewing Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1015m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
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