Clare Island Survey. 



27. 

 NEUROPTEKA. 



By J. N. HALBEET. 



Read June 24. Published September 11, 1912. 

 The present report contains a short account of the Neuroptera of the Clare- 

 Island district. It is concerned with such insects as the dragonflies, mayflies, 

 caddisflies, and other insects comprising the Neuroptera of the older 

 classifications. 



Our knowledge of most of the entomology of the district prior to the present 

 Survey was practically nil, if we except a few groups such as the moths and 

 beetles. In the case of the Neuroptera, however, a considerable amount of 

 collecting had already been done by Mr. J. J. F. X. King, who had selected 

 the Westport and Newport districts for part of the field-work which it was 

 necessary to carry out in the preparation of his catalogue of the Irish 

 Neuroptera published in 1889. l 



In order to secure a complete report on this interesting section of the 

 fauna, it was hoped that Mr. King would be able to continue his work in the 

 district ; unfortunately neither he nor Mr. K. J. Morton could spare time for 

 the undertaking In these circumstances the attention given to the Neuroptera 

 during the Survey was very limited, so that there are comparatively few 

 additional species to record. They include, however, a few notable insects, 

 such as the mayfly Leptqphlebia xespertina and the caddisfly Linmophilus 

 fiiscinervis. 



As a result of the collecting carried on both before and during the Survey 

 we have now records of 124 species of Neuroptera from the neighbourhood of 

 Clare Island, or almost exactly half the number recorded in the general Irish 

 list published about two years ago. 2 The local list is made up as follows : — 



Dragonflies, 14 species Psocidae, 18 species 



Mayflies, 11 „ Planipennia, &c, 13 „ 



Stoneflies, 5 „ Caddisflies, 63 „ 



There is no doubt that these do not represent the complete neuropterous 

 fauna of the district ; yet the group is numerically a small one, and it is 

 hardly likely that many species remain to be discovered there. 



In spite of an abundance of suitable habitats, the district is comparatively 

 poor in aquatic species. The dragonflies, for instance, are few, but in this 



1 A Contribution towards a Catalogue of the Neuropterous Fauna of Ireland. Glasgow, 1889. 

 • J. J. F. X. Kino and J. N. Halbekt : A list of the Neuroptera of Ireland. Proc. K.I. Acad., 

 xxviii, Sect. B, No. 2. 1910. 



R.I. A. PKOC, VOL. XXXI. A 27 



