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2012年49 No.4
Ancient pinnate leaf mimesis in Mesozoic lacewings
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Key Words：China，Mesozoic，Neuroptera，Bellinympha，mimesis
Abstract：Mimicry，the means by which an animal resembles another animal or object in order to mislead its natural
enemies，is one of the most important and effective defensive strategies． The Neuroptera are an order of holometabolous
insects with a diverse range of wing marking patterns in their over 270 million year history． Bellinympha Wang，Ren，Liu，
Shih ＆ Engel，2010 is an extinct genus assigned to the Saucrosmylinae ( Neuroptera，Osmylidae) ． Fossils of this genus
date from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in China． This genus represents the most ancient pinnate leaf mimesis
so far discovered and the only documented example of insects mimicking the leaves of gymnosperm plants． We here review
progress in research on the Neuroptera and summarize the diverse wing markings of Mesozoic lacewings． Bellinympha is
reviewed and the biological significance of pinnate leaf mimesis is discussed．