silky lacewing

English

A fossil silky lacewing, Undulopsychopsis alexi

Noun

silky lacewing (plural silky lacewings)

1. (zoology) Any insect of the family Psychopsidae.
   • 1983, Grolier Society of Australia, The Australian Encyclopaedia, volume 6, page 45:

     The beautiful silky lacewings (Psychopsidae) have their headquarters in Australia, where some 12 species have been described.

   • 1997, Charles S. Henry, “11: Modern mating systems in archaic Holometabola: sexuality in neuropterid insects”, in Jae C. Choe, Bernard J. Crespi, editors, The Evolution of Mating Systems in Insects and Arachnids, page 204:

     Psychopsidae, the silky lacewings, is clearly the most plesiomorphic family of the superfamily, with 26 species conforming to an early Gondwanan distribution in South Africa, Australia, and parts of Asia.

   • 2005, David Grimaldi, Evolution of the Insects, page 342:

     The suborder consists of five extant families; the Psychopsidae (silky lacewings), Nemopteridae (spoon- or thread- winged lacewings), Nymphidae (split-footed lacewings), Myrmeleontidae (antlions), and Ascalaphidae (owlflies).

Synonyms

• (any species of Psychopsidae): psychopsid