| Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781) |
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Scientific name: Phaeostigma notata (Fabricius, 1781) Common name: French name: Petite raphidie Order: Raphidioptera Family: Raphidiidae Wingspan : Wingspan: 26-29 mm; Body size: 13-15 mm. Biotope: Clearings, woodland edges, maquis, with a preference for places with oaks or coniferous trees. Geographic area: Europe but missing in the south. Observation period : May to late August. |
The insects of the Raphidioptera order show a very elongated prothorax and the shape of the head gives some kind of the appearance of a snake (they are called snakeflies). They show four translucent wings with well marked veins. The wings bear pterostigmas whose shape, colour and eventual cross veins are used to tell species apart (only 17 species in France). Phaeostigma notata has dark brown and trapeze-shaped pterostigmas. They are crossed by two oblique veins. The fore edge is slightly concave, the hind edge is very inclined. There are four discoidal cells. The head is black, rounded and it regularly tapers at the back. The abdomen is black with yellow markings. The tip of the legs is orange yellow. You can recognize females with their long ovipositor located at the rear of the abdomen. The larvae grow during two years under tree bark or in the litter. The adults emerge the following spring. Larvae and adults feed on aphids and other arthropods. |
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This Phaeostigma notata entered into the house, so the observation and the shooting of pictures were very easy. The long ovipositor indicates one female. |
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You can clearly see the pterostigma, which is typical of the species, on this picture. One of the discoidal cell is triangular-shaped. I have already seen this particularity on pictures listed as validated for the species identification. |
André Bon July 2018
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