A Preliminary List of Hemerobiidae Known to Occur in Iowa

The brown lace wings (family Hemerobiidae) are fairly inconspicuous, fragile little insects sometimes flying in abundance at lights and frequently taken by general collecting such as sweeping plants or in examining dead leaves on the ground or other debris. The adults are of medium size and are inconspicuous in their natural habitat. The wings are iridescent and hairy with numerous small cells and many cross veins. The mouth parts are of a simple biting type, but in the larvae a modified biting and sucking type exists. In this type the mandibles are short and curved with grooves on the ventral surfaces, these combine with the maxillae to form channels that lead to the pharynx since no true mouth exists