TAXONOMY OF UNITED STATES LEUCOCHRYSA 
(NEUROPTERA: CHRYSOPIDAE)* 
By Phillip A. Adams 
Department of Biological Sciences 
California State University 
Fullerton, California 92634 
This paper is one of a projected series dealing with the taxonomy 
and identification of United States Chrysopidae. Both of our spe- 
cies of Leucochrysa prove to range well into the tropics, where the 
genus is diverse and abundant. 
Bickley and MacLeod 1956 discuss at length the history and pos- 
sible validity of Allochrysa. Banks 1903 separated Allochrysa from 
Leucochrysa on the basis of its having a quadrangular rather than 
a triangular intramedian cell, despite the fact that L. varia, the type 
species of the genus, also has a quadrangular cell. This oversight 
was rectified by Navas 1917, who correctly synonymized Allochrysa 
with Leucochrysa, and erected the genus Nodita for the species 
with a triangular intramedian cell, previously placed in Leucochrysa 
by Banks. Banks followed Navas’ usage for tropical species, but 
inexplicably continued referring all the U. S. species to Allochrysa. 
Bickley and MacLeod took a non-committal stand, justifying re- 
tention of Allochrysa by suggesting that characters might someday 
be found which show that these genera are distinct. My examina- 
tion of many neotropical species has not turned up any such char- 
acters. Banks himself referred the Antillean population of L. in- 
sularis to Leucochrysa, and the United States population of the 
very same species to Allochrysa. There appears to be no basis 
whatever for the continued recognition of Allochrysa. It may be 
superfluous to point out that since L. insularis is the type species 
of both Protochrysopa Kolbe 1888 (by monotypy) and Allochrysa 
Banks 1903 (L. virginica, by original designation), these genera are 
synonymous. 
In the tropics, the genus Nodita merges with Leucochrysa. Thus 
far, the only characters useful for its separation are the venational 
ones discussed by Banks 1945, which have proved variable and 
unreliable in many cases, as Banks himself was aware. An example 
* Manuscript received by the editor June 5, 1977 
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