Species Ululodes quadripunctatus - Four-spotted Owlfly

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Life Cycle · Works Cited

Ululodes? Male? - Ululodes quadripunctatus - male

Ululodes quadripunctatus (stacked image) - Ululodes quadripunctatus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Neuroptera (Antlions, Lacewings, and Allies)

Suborder Myrmeleontiformia (Antlions and Allies)

Family Myrmeleontidae (Antlions including Owlflies)

Subfamily Ascalaphinae (Owlflies)

Genus Ululodes (Split-eyed Owlflies)

Species quadripunctatus (Four-spotted Owlfly)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Ululodes quadripunctatus (Burmeister, 1839)

=Colobopterus excisus Hagen

=Ululodes quadrimaculatus (Say, 1824)

Explanation of Names

quadripunctatus 'four-spotted'

Size

Body ~38 mm, antennae ~25 mm

Identification

Sexually dimorphic: ♀ with diffuse dark spots near wingtips (variable and sometimes absent), ♂ with prominent tuft of black bristles on top of abdomen near base (resemble scent scales, or pencils, of some Lepidoptera)

male hindwings stalked (pedunculate), most visible when wings spread (character unique to U. quadrimaculatus), female hindwings have no prominent stalks

pterosigma cream-colored in both sexes (dark in U. macleayana)

Range

e. NA north to NY-ON, west to NE-TX(1)

Season

Summer, June-August in Piedmont region of NC

Life Cycle

Larvae predatory in leaf litter, etc. Adults come to lights in mid-summer. They are allegedly most active at dusk and dawn.

Works Cited

1.	Species catalog of the Neuroptera, Megaloptera, and Raphidioptera of America North of Mexico Penny N.D., Adams P.A., Stange L.A. 1997. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 50: 39-114.

Contributed by Cotinis on 7 June, 2004 - 3:57pm
Additional contributions by v belov, Robert H. Biagi
Last updated 1 July, 2018 - 10:00pm

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