An annotated checklist of the Myrmeleontidae of Armenia (Neuroptera)

Abstract

This paper presents an annotated checklist of the antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) of Armenia. In total, 39 myrmeleontid species are known to occur in Armenia, with 18 of them recorded in 2017 and 2018 by the second author. All faunistic data for these records are provided. Three species, namely Solter pulcher Hölzel, 1967, Euroleon parvus Hölzel, 1972, and Gymnocnemia variegata (Schneider, 1845), are documented for Armenia for the first time. The occurrence of Nemoleon poecilopterus (Stein, 1863), Distoleon kabulensis Hölzel, 1972 and Distoleon formosus Hölzel, 1972 in Armenia is confirmed after more than 80 years. The occurrence of Synclisis baetica (Rambur, 1842) and Myrmecaelurus uralensis (Hölzel, 1969) is substantiated by concrete records for the first time. Myrmecaelurus spectabilis Navás, 1912 should be excluded from the Neuroptera checklist of Russia due to misinterpretation of text on locality labels. Photographs of very rare or hitherto undetailed species are provided.

Keywords:

• Myrmeleontidae
• Transcaucasia
• distribution
• new records

Acknowledgements

Field investigations were conducted in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and based on an agreement of scientific cooperation between the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology and the Czech Entomological Society. The second author thanks Mark Kalashian for his support during field work, in particular for obtaining a collecting permit for the Arevik National Park, and to Gayane Karagyan (both Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, Yerevan, Armenia) for her company during both trips to Armenia. The authors thank Kristina Lexová (Prague, Czechia) and Ingrid Lexová (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) for English language corrections.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

Jan Šumpich carried out his part of the work on this article with support from the Ministry of Culture Czech Republic (DKRVO 2024–2028 / 5.I.a, National Museum, 00023272).