Berothidae Temporal range: | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Spermophorella sp. | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Neuroptera |
Clade: | Euneuroptera |
Superfamily: | Mantispoidea |
Family: | Berothidae Handlirsch, 1906 |
Subfamilies | |
|
The Berothidae are a family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. They are known commonly as the beaded lacewings. [1] The family was first named by Anton Handlirsch in 1906. [2] The family consists of 24 genera and 110 living species distributed discontinuously worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. [3] Numerous extinct species have also been described. Their ecology is poorly known, but in the species where larval stages have been documented, the larvae are predators of termites. [4]
A considerable fossil diversity of beaded lacewings is known from the Late Jurassic onwards, containing numerous genera which are likewise basal or incertae sedis.
Subfamily Paraberothinae (now included in Rhachiberothidae)