Lacewings, Antlions And Allies (Neuroptera And Kin)

This group gathers Insects subcategory members belonging to the order Neuroptera and its two smaller close relatives, the order Megaloptera and the order Raphidioptera, together sometimes called the netwinged insects for the dense, lace-like network of veins crossing their two pairs of similarly sized wings. It spans the lacewings, delicate green or brown fliers whose larvae are voracious predators of aphids and other small pests, the antlions, whose larvae dig small conical pit traps in loose sand to capture prey that stumbles in, the owlflies and mantidflies, both predators that resemble unrelated insect groups despite belonging here, and the dobsonflies, alderflies and snakeflies, aquatic or near-aquatic predators as larvae whose adult forms can carry unusually large, sometimes fearsome-looking mandibles.