New faunal data on lacewings (Insecta, Neuroptera) collected from Saudi Arabia

Abstract This study presents new data on the lacewing fauna of Saudi Arabia based on field work performed between 2014 and 2019. Sixty-one lacewing species from 37 genera and seven Neuroptera families were documented. Additionally, two species belonging to Dielocroce and Pseudomallada were identified only to genus level. Three of the identified species are new records to Saudi Arabia (Aspoeckiella gallagheri Hölzel, 2004, Bankisus maculosus Hölzel, 1983, and Nemoleon secundus Hölzel, 2002). Another three species are new to the fauna of the Arabian Peninsula (Mantispa aphavexelte Aspöck & Aspöck, 1994, Omoleon jeanneli Navás, 1936, and Stylascalaphus krueperi van der Weele, 1909). The first reports of eight species are provided after their original description from Saudi Arabia; namely, Creoleon ultimus Hölzel, 983, Cueta amseli Hölzel, 1982, Cu. asirica Hölzel, 1982, Distoleon asiricus Hölzel, 1983, Geyria pallida Hölzel, 1983, Neuroleon delicatus Hölzel, 1983, N. virgineus Hölzel, 1983 and Solter buettikeri Hölzel, 1982 Zoogeographically, most lacewing species documented in the Arabian Peninsula are endemic (26.2%), followed by Afro-syroeremic (23.0%), Afrotropical (18.0%), and Afro-syro-iranoeremic (14.8%) species. Palaearctic species (4.9%) had the lowest contribution.


Introduction
The Arabian Peninsula is located on the Arabian tectonic plate in northeast Africa, western Asia. Its fauna has different zoogeographical affinities (Larsen 1984;, as it lies at the convergence of three zoogeographical realms: the Palaearctic from the north, the Afrotropical from the southwest, and the Oriental from the east. The Arabian Peninsula covers a surface area of 3.2 million km 2 , and encompasses Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (Fig. 1). Saudi Arabia covers approximately two thirds (1,969,000 km 2 ) of the peninsula and is considered to hold the richest biodiversity in it (Miller 1994;Mallon 2011). The key biological sites in Saudi Arabia include isolated mountain massifs, rawdahs (meadows), wadis (valleys), juniper woodlands, acacia woodlands, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, mangrove thickets, marine islands, coral reefs, algal beds, and sea grass beds (Abuzinada et al. 2005).
Neuroptera is a small group of insects that currently contains ca. 5,800 species in 19 families (Oswald 2019). Nine families have been reported to occur in the Arabian Peninsula: Chrysopidae, Hemerobiidae, Sisyridae, Coniopterygidae, Mantispidae, Berothidae, Nemopteridae, Myrmeleontidae, and Ascalaphidae (the last two recently fused in a single family, see Machado et al. 2018). Saudi Arabia has an exceptionally rich fauna of aridophilic families, Nemopteridae and Myrmeleontidae, with studies over the last 40 years documenting several new species (Meinander 1980;Hölzel 1982Hölzel , 1983aHölzel , 1988Hölzel , 1999Hölzel , 2001Hölzel , 2004. For many of these species, the original description represents the only published data. Consequently, despite many studies documenting Neuroptera in the Arabian Peninsula over the last 40 years (Meinander 1979;Hölzel 1980Hölzel , 1983bSziráki 1992Sziráki , 1997Aspöck and Aspöck 1998;Sziráki and van Harten 2006;Saji and Whittington 2008), there is still a paucity of faunal surveys focusing on Neuroptera that could provide important distribution and ecological information on this group.
Over the last six years, new faunal unpublished records of lacewings have been gathered in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this study aims to provide new information on this group in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on poorly known and rarely collected species.

Materials and methods
The collection of samples was conducted between 2014 and 2019 at different locations in Saudi Arabia. Adult lacewings were captured mainly with light traps (LT), but also pitfall traps (PT), sugar traps (ST), and sweep nets (SW) were utilized. Specimens were preserved by desiccation or in 70% alcohol. They were then deposited in the collections of King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA) (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) unless otherwise indicated (AL: Agostino Letardi collection). The species are presented in systematic order, by family and genus, according to Aspöck et al. (2001).
For the examined material, the following information were verified: Saudi Province (in bold) followed by a colon (:), the name of the governorate, locality, geographical co- ordinates (latitude, longitude), elevation (m), date of collection, capture technique(s), collector(s), number of examined specimens followed by sex (if determined) or "ex" (if the specimen sex could not be recognized because the abdomen lost or other reasons). The examined material was arranged by province, governorate, and locality name, in alphabetical order. Then, it was presented in ascending order according to altitude, and chronologically based on month of collection. When the records were from different provinces and governorates, a full stop separate them. A semicolon was used to separate different records. The governorate name was only cited at the beginning if the records were from the same governorate. Labels that had the same locality name, except for slight differences (such as elevation, collection date, collector/s), were listed jointly with the second label, specified with "ibidem", and followed by a comma and the different data. The global distribution was derived from Oswald (2019) and general range Notes. It was previously reported in the provinces of Al Bahah and Asir (Hölzel 1980). The listed specimens were collected at 1197 m elevation in mountainous Acacia woodland areas in southwest Saudi Arabia. 2017, LT, M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg., 1♀;ibidem, 19°50'51"N, 41°18'06"E, 1358 m, 9 Apr 2019, LT, D. Baiocchi et al. leg., 4♀ and2♂;ibidem, 19°50.329'N, 41°18.604'E, 1563m, 29 Mar 201710 km NNW of Al Makhwah, 20°10.750 Notes. Chrysemosa andresi was recorded in Asir Province (Hölzel 1988). The specimens were collected at different elevations (136-1926 m)  Notes. The species was previously documented in Asir Province (Hölzel 1988 Biology. Unknown. Notes. This species was previously recorded in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen: Aden) as Necyla arabica (Navás 1914), now a junior synonym. The listed specimens were collected in rocky and sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at different elevations   Biology. Mantispa aphavexelte was previously found in ruderal areas and olive groves. The larvae parasitize spiders and feed on spider eggs (Aspöck et al. 1980).
Notes. This study presents the first report for this species in Saudi Arabia. The three males were collected from mountainous Acacia woodlands at an elevation of 1197 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Biology. Nodalla eatoni is found in semi-deserts with sparse low vegetation habitats, mainly in the form of isolated spiny dwarf shrubs, surrounded by extensive vegetation-free sandy areas (Aspöck and Aspöck 1983).
Notes. The species was previously documented in several localities (Aspöck and Aspöck 1998). The listed female specimen was collected in foothill Acacia woodlands at elevation of 554-1325 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Biology. The biology of N. saharica is largely unknown, as with other Nodalla species. Adults hide deep inside sparse vegetation or crevices and under stones during the day; at night they are attracted to artificial light sources (Aspöck and Aspöck 1998).
Notes. The species was formerly reported in several localities (Aspöck and Aspöck 1998). The listed specimens were collected in mountainous Acacia woodlands, Barbary Biology. This species lives in deserted mines and caves, normally hiding under stones (Hafez and El Moursy 1964).
Notes. It was previously collected in Riyadh Province (Meinander 1980). The listed female specimen was collected in foothill Acacia woodlands at low elevation of 473 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Distribution. Africa: spread throughout North Africa, Kenya, Sudan. Asia: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen. Polycentric Afro-syroeremic species.
Notes. It was previously collected in Al Madinah Province (Meinander 1980). The listed specimens were found in Acacia woodlands at low elevations of 462-473 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Distribution. Africa: widespread in North Africa, Sudan, Somalia. Asia: Israel, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen. A possible polycentric Afro-syroeremic species.
Notes. It was previously collected in Asir, Hail and Makkah provinces (Meinander 1980). The listed female specimen was collected in foothill Acacia woodlands at an elevation of 554 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Notes. This species was formerly reported in Asir, Makkah and Riyadh provinces (Meinander 1980). The listed specimens were collected in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at low elevation (554-6761 m) in southwestern and central Saudi Arabia. Notes. This listed female specimen was collected at an elevation of 709 m among a huge number of D. elegans in sandy Acacia woodlands at low elevation in central Saudi Arabia. It might be D. berlandi (Navás 1936), but the poor condition of the specimen preserved in alcohol resulted in our identification only to the genus level. Distribution. Africa: widespread in North Africa, Mauritania, Sudan. Asia: Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen. A polycentric Afro-syro-iranoeremic species.
Notes. This species was previously collected in Hail, Madinah, Makkah, and Riyadh provinces (Meinander 1980). The listed specimens were collected at low elevations (460-809 m) in central Saudi Arabia in sandy areas dominated with Acacia woodlands or Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (Apocynaceae), or areas cultivated with wheat. Also, two males were collected from Acacia gerrardii Benth. (Fabaceae), in a gravelly area at Wadi Ghaihab, Al Aflag. Notes. This species was previously reported in Al Bahah Province (Hölzel 1982). The listed specimens were collected in sandy Acacia woodlands at elevations of 473-892 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and from communities of Notes. This species was previously reported in Makkah Province (Hölzel 1988). The listed specimens were collected in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at low elevations (16-892 m) in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Notes. This species was previously reported in Asir Province (Hölzel 1982). The listed female specimen was collected in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at low elevation of 473 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Notes. C. speciosa has been widely reported in Saudi Arabia (Saji and Whittington 2008) and was documented in Asir Province (Hölzel 1983). The listed female specimen was collected at an elevation of 1897 m in an Olea europaea (Wall. ex G. Don) Cifferi community. Biology. This species is poorly known and is usually reported in savannah habitats (Güsten 2002).

Iranoleon arabicus
Distribution. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. An endemic species to the Arabian Peninsula.
Notes. This record is one of the five published localities where this species was collected in Riyadh Province (Hölzel 1982), with large numbers of specimens being preserved in collections. The listed adult specimens were collected at an elevation of 709 m in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands in central Saudi Arabia. Biology. Lopezus fedtschenkoi is associated with desert biotopes. Notes. It was reported in Riyadh Province (Hölzel 1982). These specimens were collected from sandy areas with Acacia (Acacia gerrardii and A. ehrenbergiana) woodlands at elevations of 786-796 m in central Saudi Arabia. Biology. This species is associated with desert biotopes.

Gepus invisus
Notes. This species was reported in the Eastern, Madinah, and Riyadh provinces (Hölzel 1982). The listed male specimens were collected at elevations of 671-796 m in sandy areas with milkweed trees, Calotropis procera, and sandy areas with Acacia woodlands, Acacia ehrenbergiana, and A. gerrardii Benth. (Fabaceae), in central Saudi Arabia. Distribution. An endemic species to Saudi Arabia.

Solter buettikeri
Notes. This study presents the first report of this species after the original description from Riyadh Province, based on two males (Hölzel 1982). The listed specimens were collected by light traps in a sandy area with Acacia woodlands at low elevation Notes. The species was previously reported in several localities ). The listed male specimen was collected with light trap at an elevation of 1358 m in a rocky area with Acacia woodlands in southwestern Saudi Arabia.  Distribution. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen. An endemic species to the Arabian Peninsula.

Cueta amseli
Biology. Unknown, possibly a pit builder in arid biotopes, like congeners.
Notes. This record is the second locality published for Saudi Arabia, with it being previously collected in Asir Province (Hölzel 1982), with a large number of specimens being preserved in collections. The specimens were collected from mountainous Acacia woodlands, Barbary fig shrubland,  Distribution. This species is endemic to Saudi Arabia. Biology. Unknown, possibly a pit builder in arid biotopes, like congeners. Notes. These records represent new localities, with this species previously being collected in Al Bahah Province (Hölzel 1982), with a large number of specimens being preserved in collections. The listed specimens were collected by light traps in Acacia woodlands growing on both sandy and rocky soils, and from Distribution. Africa: Egypt, Djibouti, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia; Asia: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen. Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia. It is a Palaearctic species.
Biology. This antlion species is common in deserts and steppe-like habitats on the southern edge of the Western Palaearctic. C. lineosa larvae construct pits by digging traps in exposed conditions (Badano et al. 2018).
Biology. The larvae are pit-builders that are associated with sandy shorelines and wide, dry sand-covered habitats (Hölzel and Ohm 1983).
Notes. This species was previously collected in Asir and Al Bahah provinces (Hölzel 1988). The listed female specimen was collected from a rocky area with Acacia woodlands in the highlands (1197 m elevation) of southwestern Saudi Arabia. Biology. Myrmeleon fasciatus inhabits very warm and xeric biotopes, including deserts. The larva builds pits in sheltered areas, such as beneath overhangs and cavities of sedimentary rocks, in very fine detritus or sand (Badano and Pantaleoni 2014).

Neuroleon tenellus (Klug in Ehrenberg
Biology. Neuroleon tenellus is not well known and is usually documented in arid habitats. The larvae have not been documented (Aspöck et al. 1980;Badano et al. 2018).

Neuroleon virgineus
Distribution. Asia: An endemic species to Saudi Arabia.
Notes. This study presents the first record of this species after the original description from Makka Province (Hölzel 1983). The listed specimens were collected from sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at low elevation of 473 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Biology. The listed records present further localities in Saudi Arabia from where this species has been recently described.

Distoleon laticollis
Notes. This species was previously recorded in the mountains of southwestern Saudi Arabia, from Al Bahah and Makkah provinces (Hölzel 1982). The listed specimens were collected in Acacia woodlands in rocky and sandy soils and in rocky areas with Notes. This study presents the first report in Saudi Arabia, with this species recently being described from Oman and Yemen (Hölzel, 2002). The listed specimens were collected from foothill Acacia woodlands at elevations of 473-554 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Biology. The larva possibly inhabits sandy soils, like congeners. Notes. It was documented in northern and southwestern Saudi Arabia, in Tabouk, Asir and Riyadh provinces (Hölzel 1982). The listed specimens were attracted to light traps in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at elevations between 554-1926 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Hölzel, 1983 Material examined. Al Bahah Province: Al Mekhwah, Shada Al-A'Ala Nature Reserve, 19°50'51"N, 41°18'06"E, 1358m, 9 Apr 2019, LT, D. Baiocchi et al. leg., 1♀ and 1♂. Asir Province: Khamis Mushait, Wadi Ibn Hashbal (14 km N Khamis Mushait), 18°27.558'N, 42°42.876'E, 1926 Apr 2017, LT, M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg., 1♂.

Creoleon ultimus
Distribution. Asia: An endemic species to Saudi Arabia. Biology. The larva possibly inhabits sandy soils, like congeners.
Notes. This study presents the first report of this species after the original description, based on one male and one female collected in Al Bahah Province in southwestern Saudi Arabia (Hölzel 1983). The listed male specimens were collected in sandy and rocky areas with Acacia woodlands at elevations of 1358-1926 m in the highlands of southwestern Saudi Arabia. Biology. It is commonly collected with light traps in open savannah areas that are sometimes cultivated or grazed by cattle (Tjeder 1980).
Notes. This species was previously reported in Eastern Province, Jizan, and Riyadh provinces (Hölzel 1983). The specimens were collected in sandy areas with Acacia woodlands at elevations of 136-1757 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Distribution. Asia: Oman, United Arab Emirates. An endemic species to the Arabian Peninsula.
Notes. This study presents the first report of this species in Saudi Arabia, which was originally described from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (Hölzel 2004 Biology. It is frequently collected by light traps; adults tend to inhabit steppe-like habitats, and rocky grasslands with long stalks (Dobosz and Ábrahám 2007).

Tmesibasis larseni
Notes. The listed records for this species extend existing published Saudi Arabian localities from Gizan, based on a single female specimen (Hölzel 1983). The listed specimens were collected in rocky and sandy areas with Acacia woodlands and rocky areas with Barbary fig shrub communities at elevations of 136-1358 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
According to Oswald (2019), 170 lacewing taxa are known from Saudi Arabia in addition to six new country records from our study (Appendix I). We listed 61 species of the (now) 176 taxa known from Saudi Arabia, so we sampled and reported a little more than one third (34.7%) of the total known Neuropterida fauna of Saudi Arabia. The most prominent in our survey, is the absence of Coniopterygidae (Appendix I) which are very hardly to detect (a very small insects) without specific researches. The huge differences of knowledge of this family in Yemen (57 spp.) and Saudi Arabia (10 spp.) is due only to the lack of a specific research of Coniopterygidae in Saudi Arabia.
Despite a large number of studies existing on the lacewing fauna of the Arabian Peninsula (Meinander 1979(Meinander , 1980Hölzel 1980Hölzel , 1982Hölzel , 1983Hölzel , 1988Hölzel , 1995Sziráki and van Harten 2006;Sziráki 2010), including the current study, there is still a paucity of knowledge about the lacewing fauna in the Arabian Peninsula. This issue is reflected by the rate of discovery of lacewing species in the Arabian Peninsula has not yet reached a plateau. The addition of lacewing species after more thorough sampling efforts is expected to provide more reliable biogeographical patterns on this group. Further studies on the lacewing fauna of Saudi Arabia should also focus on the biology and ecology of this group.