Numbers
About 80 spp. in 7 genera occur in the US and Canada
(1)Identification
Large insects with soft bodies and delicate wings. Adults (imagos) often found near aquatic habitat of the larvae. Key characters:
Wings folded flat over back at rest
Ocelli (simple eyes) present
Fourth segment of tarsi rounded, not flattened, as in Sialidae
Antennae quite variable, may be filiform (thread-like), moniliform (like beads on a string), pectinate (comb-like)
Males of many species have enlarged mandibles, presumably used in competition for mates
Range
Eastern North American genera: Chauliodes, Corydalus, Neohermes, and Nigronia.
Western genera: Neohermes, Dysmicohermes (northwestern NA), Orohermes (Pacific coast NA), and Protochauliodes (western US, also Australia, New Zealand, Chile!)
