Owly sulphur

Libelloides coccajus

"Libelloides coccajus", the "owly sulphur", is an owlfly species belonging to the family Ascalaphidae, subfamily Ascalaphinae.
Owly sulphur (Libelloides coccajus) From a hike in the Stura Valley region of Piemont, Italy.
Next to a small side road leading to an Alp, at an elevation of ca 1370m, we encountered a wonderfully rich and bio-diverse meadow. Apart from countless grasshoppers, butterflies and beetles, also several of these beautiful owlflies were zooming around. And luckily, sometimes they also sat down and posed for a photo shot :-) Geotagged,Insekt,Italien,Italy,Libelloides coccajus,Netzflügler,Owly sulphur,Summer

Appearance

The adults reach 25 millimetres of length, with a wingspan of 45–55 millimetres and can be encountered from April through July in areas with tall grass.

The body is black and quite hairy. The eyes are large and bulging; the antennae are long and clubbed. The wings do not have scales and are partly transparent, bright yellow in the first third, dark brown on the external side. The wings are held spread at rest, as in dragonflies.
Libelloides coccajus - owl sulphur in the deep grass near the Plateau d'Argentine Ascalaphinae,Libelloides coccajus,owl sulphur

Distribution

This rare insect is present in France, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
Libelloides coccajus - owl sulphur a female deep in the grass Ascalaphidae,Libelloides coccajus,Owly sulphur,ascalphe soufre,owly sulphur

Food

The adults are diurnal predators of other flying insects. Eggs are laid in groups on stems of herbaceous plants. Larvae are fearsome predators too. They lie on the soil surface waiting for prey. They live for about two years.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderNeuroptera
FamilyAscalaphidae
GenusLibelloides
SpeciesL. coccajus
Photographed in
France
Italy