Puncha ratzeburgi

Puncha ratzeburgi is a species of snakefly in the monotypic genus Puncha belonging to the family Raphidiidae.^[3][4]

Puncha ratzeburgi
Puncha ratzeburgi, female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Raphidioptera
Family:	Raphidiidae
Genus:	Puncha Navàs, 1915
Species:	P. ratzeburgi
Binomial name
Puncha ratzeburgi (Brauer, 1876)
Synonyms
Agulla ratzenburgi (Brauer, 1876)[1] Raphidilla alpina (Steinmann, 1964) [2] Rhaphidilla alpina Steinmann, 1964[2] Raphidia ratzeburgi Brauer, 1876[1]

Distribution and habitat

This species is widely distributed in Central and Eastern Europe^[5] (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland).^[6] Isolated populations have been found from southern France, the Apennine and Balkan Peninsula. These insects inhabit mountains at an elevation up to 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level.

Description

Puncha ratzeburgi can reach a wingspan of about 24 millimetres (0.94 in).^[7] These snakeflies have a long prothorax, hyaline wings with characteristic venation, a distinct pterostigma ranging from yellow-ocher to ocher-brown, and a long ovipositor in females.^[8]

Biology

They are predatory, both as adults and larvae.

Gallery

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  Museum specimen