Revised concept of Chrysoperla mediterranea (Holzel), a green lacewing associated with conifers: courtship songs across 2800 kilometres of Europe (Neuroptera : Chrysopidae)

The Holarctic carnea-group of Chrysoperla green lacewings consists of numer ous cryptic, sibling species, distinguished principally by vibrational cour tship songs. A European member of this species-group, C. mediterranea (Holz el), was originally diagnosed by its dark green coloration, red band across the front of the head, narrow wings, minute basal dilation of the pretarsu s and ecological association with pines. Here we describe its courtship and mating song, which uniquely distinguishes the species from all other membe rs of the carnea-group in Europe. Males and females both produce a single t ype of song, characterized by a long train of short, closely spaced volleys and nearly constant carrier frequency. Measured song features are nearly i nvariant across a large geographical range that extends well outside that p reviously known for C. mediterranea. Principal components analysis confirms the uniqueness of the mediterranea song in comparison with five other symp atric song species of the carnea-group. Populations which show the mediterr anea song phenotype do not necessarily retain all of the traditional morpho logical features of the species, particularly in eastern parts of the range . Specifically, the green coloration may be less intense, the wings broader and the pretarsal basal dilation larger, resulting in significant morpholo gical overlap with other song species. Larval morphology and ecophysiology also fail to distinguish C. mediterranea from other song species. Based on unique song phenotype, however, we conclude that C. mediterranea is a valid biological species, which can also be recognized in museum collections whe n a suite of physical attributes is used.