English

A fossil silky lacewing, Undulopsychopsis alexi

Noun

silky lacewing ‎(plural silky lacewings)

1. (zoology) Any insect of the family Psychopsidae.
   • 1983, Grolier Society of Australia, The Australian Encyclopaedia, Volume 6, page 45,

     The beautiful silky lacewings (Psychopsidae) have their headquarters in Australia, where some 12 species have been described.

   • 1997, Charles S. Henry, 11: Modern mating systems in archaic Holometabola: sexuality in neuropterid insects, Jae C. Choe, Bernard J. Crespi (editors), The Evolution of Mating Systems in Insects and Arachnids, page 204,

     Psychopsidae, the silky lacewings, is clearly the most plesiomorphic family of the superfamily, with 26 species conforming to an early Gondwanan distribution in South Africa, Australia, and parts of Asia.

   • 2005, David Grimaldi, Evolution of the Insects, page 342,

     The suborder consists of five extant families; the Psychopsidae (silky lacewings), Nemopteridae (spoon- or thread- winged lacewings), Nymphidae (split-footed lacewings), Myrmeleontidae (antlions), and Ascalaphidae (owlflies).

Synonyms

• (any species of Psychopsidae): psychopsid