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Ascalaphidae 
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Family Ascalaphidae - Owl-flies

This page contains pictures and information about Owl-flies that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
 
Adults in this family are from medium to large size. They have the long and club pear-shaped antennae. When rest, their abdomen is extended above the stem that they are sitting on while their wings hanging downwards.  
 
Owl-flies are good flier although they spend most of their time resting on stem. Adults are predator, hunting insects in flight. Some of them are active both day and night. The larvae hunt prey with their large jaw on ground and low vegetations.  
 
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Owl-fly lays eggs on grass seed stem.                    Larvae
 
Their eggs are hard and oval, laid in masses around twigs or grass-stalk, number in about 50 to 100. 
 
Following list different owl-fly species that we found in Brisbane.
 
 
Australian Common Owl-fly
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Suhpalacsa subtrahens, body length 45mm, female, male
The Australian Owl-fly is dark grayish brown in colour with yellow markings. Eyes are grayish brown, with long and knobbed antennae. Two pairs of membrane wings are clean with dark brown pterostigma. Legs are short and dark in colour. Check this page for more information.
 
 
Yellow Owl-fly
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Suhpalacsa flavipes, body length 45mm, female
This Owl-fly is black in colour with yellow markings. Head and legs are pale yellow with dark grey eyes. On wings the pterostigma is lemon yellow, in hindwings the pterostigma is dark basal spot. Wings are relative broad. Please check this page for more information.
 
 
Lyriform Owl-fly
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Suhpalacsa lyriformis, body length 45mm, male
This Owl-fly is dark grey and brown on colours. On the back of abdomen there are the velvety chocolate brown lyriform marks. The antenna club has pale patch at the base. All legs are dark brown as well. Visit this page for more infromation. 
 
 
Black Owl-fly
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Suhpalacsa nigrescens, body length 45mm
This owl-fly is dark brown to black in colours. Antennae are black , Club is black with yellow at the base. Abdomen is dark brown to black with yellow ring around each segment border. Please check this page for more information. 
 
 
Cloudy-wings Owl-fly
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Suhpalacsa dietrichiae, body length 45mm
We found this owl-fly in Karawatha Forest on Jan 2010. This Owl-fly has the all black antenna and the creamy white pterostigma on each wing and cloudy grey shaded near wing tip. 
1. Revision of the Australian Ascalaphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) - New, T.R. (1984). Aust. J. Zool. Suppl. 100: 1-86.
2. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 542. 
3. Ascalaphidae - Neuroptera - WHAT BUGS IS THAT? CSIRO, 2010. Australian Insect Families, viewed 10 January 2010. 
 

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 541.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p324. 
3. Wildlife of greater Brisbane - Queensland Museum, p99.
4. A field guide to insects in Australia - By Paul Zborowski and Ross Storey, Reed New Holland, 1996, p105.
5. Revision of the Australian Ascalaphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) - New, T.R. (1984). Aust. J. Zool. Suppl. 100: 1-86.

 
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Last updated: January 10, 2010.