Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok 14. - Natura Somogyiensis 30. / Miscellanea 14. (Kaposvár, 2016)
Ábrahám L.: New data to the Moroccan Myrmeleontiformia (Neompteridae, Myrmeleontidae, Ascalaphidae) fauna
76 Natura Somogyiensis Morocco is situated in the Palearctic zoogeographical realm, but the transitional zone of the Ethiopian realm has an important influence on the fauna (Krivokhatsky 1998, Aspöck et al. 2001). The Neuropteran fauna of the area is very diverse, but few data were published in the past. The earliest described species, Ascalaphus barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767) from Morocco was published by Linnaeus (1767) in his famous work, Systema natura (12th Edition). Then, it passed more than a century until new information on the fauna was published again in the shorter works of Kolbe (1884) and McLachlan (1889). In the early 20th century, several new species were described and many new species of the local fauna were listed (Jacobs & Mech 1913, Lestage 1928, Esben-Petersen 1931a). In this respect, especially Navás’s publications (1913a, 1913b, 1921, 1922a, 1922b, 1923, 1927, 1928a, 1928b, 1929a, 1929b, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935a, 1935b) are important. He kept providing faunistic information all his life long and described many new species from Morocco. In the second part of the 20th century, several major contributions (Duisit-Raclin 1962, Hölzel 1987, Meinander 1963, Monserrat 1976,1985, Monserrat & Papenberg 2006, Monserrat et al. 1990, Steinmann 1963) to the Moroccan Neuropteroidea fauna were also made. In the early 21st century, the investigation of the fauna was continued, new species, their habitats and way of life were described (Aspöck & Aspöck 2009, Ábrahám 2009, 2010, Ábrahám & Mészáros 2004, Badano & Pantaleoni 2012, Faucheux 2006a, 2006b, Faucheux et al. 2012, Michel 2013, 2014). The description of several new species (Pseudimares aphrodite H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck, 2009, Bankisus antiatlasensis Ábrahám, 2009, Cirrops berbericus Ábrahám, 2010, Agadirius trojani Badano & Pantaleoni, 2012, Gymnocnemia editaerevayae Michel, 2013, Solter francoisi Michel, 2014, Solter leopardalis Michel, 2014) from the subordo of Myrmeleontiformia shows that the area is probably rich in endemic species and our knowledge is still incomplete. The earlier decribed North African species need to be revised as synonyms may occur among them impairing further fauna surveys, mapping and the evaluation of biodivesity. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the evaluation of local fauna based on the collecting expeditions organized by the author and his colleagues in Morocco. Material and methods Hungarian entomologists made a significant contribution to the survey of Moroccan neuropteran fauna donating their collected material to the author for further examination. Between 2008 and 2010, the author, himself also participated in five expeditions. Each fieldwork was about three-week-long while several Hungarian researchers focused mainly on neuropterans besides other insect groups. The expedition trips were executed in spring, early summer and autumn. The samples were deposited in the entomological collection of the Ripp-Rónai Museum, Kaposvár (Hungary) and in the Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom (Poland). More than one collection methods were used. Most Myrmeleontiformia species are strongly attracted by UV light. Thus, they were recorded by a 160 W mixed light lamp (normal and mercury, Tungsram HMLI type) at night, on a 8 m2 size white sheet and another UV lamp, Philips TLD 18W blacklight blue tube was installed on one of the holders of the sheet for a higher catching efficiency.
