Belongs within: Myrmeleontiformia.
The Ascalaphidae, owlflies, are a group of long-winged lacewings with long, clubbed antennae.
Characters (from New 1984): Costal area of wings with numerous crossveins, pterostigmata well defined; ocelli absent; head not produced into rostrum; antennae clubbed, at least half length of forewing.
<==Ascalaphidae |--HaplogeniinaeEWB18 |--AlbardiaFS01 [AlbardiinaeEWB18] | `--A. furcataFS01 `--AscalaphinaeN84 | i. s.: Venacsa New 1984N84 | `--*V. bicostalis New 1984N84 | Pilacmonotus New 1984N84 | `--*P. sabulosus (Walker 1853) [=Ascalaphus sabulosus, Suhpalacsa sabulosa]N84 | Megacmonotus New 1984N84 | |--*M. magnus (McLachlan 1871) [=Suhpalacsa magna, Acmonotus magnus]N84 | |--M. spectabilis (Gerstaecker 1885) [=Suhpalacsa spectabilis, Acmonotus spectabilis]N84 | |--M. vanderweelei New 1984N84 | `--M. wilsoni (McLachlan 1871) [=Suhpalacsa wilsoni, Acmonotus wilsoni]N84 | Pseudodisparomitus New 1984N84 | `--*P. australiensis New 1984N84 | Disparomitus horvarthi Weele 1908N84, HM55 | Parasuphalomitus New 1984N84 | |--*P. macinnesi New 1984N84 | `--P. houstoni New 1984N84 | Lobalacsa New 1984N84 | |--*L. norsemanensis New 1984N84 | `--L. collessi New 1984N84 | Angustacsa New 1984N84 | `--*A. lobata New 1984N84 | Pictacsa New 1984N84 | |--*P. trimaculata New 1984N84 | |--P. commoni New 1984N84 | `--P. cruciformis New 1984N84 | Forcepacsa New 1984N84 | `--*F. rieki New 1984N84 | Umbracsa New 1984N84 | `--*U. amarilla New 1984N84 | Dentalacsa New 1984N84 | `--*D. uptoni New 1983N84 | AscalaphusRD77 | |--A. barbarusL02 | |--A. italicusG20 | `--A. longicornis [=Libelloides longicornis]RD77 | LibelloidesWHW10 | |--L. macaroniusVM20 | `--L. rhomboideusWHW10 | UlulodesWHW10 | |--U. quadrimaculataEWB18 | `--U. quadripunctatusWHW10 |--EncyoposiniN84 | |--Encyoposis brevistigma Esben-Petersen 1931HM55 | `--Pseudencyoposis van der Weele 1909N84 | `--*P. bicornis van der Weele 1909N84 `--Suhpalacsini [Acmonotini]N84 |--StylonotusN84 |--Acmonotus McLachlan 1871N84 | `--*A. incusifer McLachlan 1871N84 |--Suphalomitus van der Weele 1909N84 | |--*S. difformis (McLachlan 1871) [=Suphalasca (l. c. for Suhpalacsa) difformis]N84 | `--S. pygmaeus New 1984N84 `--Suhpalacsa Lefebvre 1842 [=Suhpalasca (l. c.)]N84 |--*S. flavipes (Leach 1814) (see below for synonymy)N84 |--S. barrowensis New 1984N84 |--S. dietrichiae (Brauer 1869) [=Bubo dietrichiae, Suhpalasca (l. c.) dietrichiae]N84 |--S. fuscostriata New 1984N84 |--S. incospicua McLachlan 1871 (see below for synonymy)N84 |--S. lyriformis New 1984N84 |--S. nigrescens New 1984N84 |--S. pequena New 1984N84 |--S. sagittaria New 1984N84 |--S. sordidata Navás 1931N84 |--S. stigmata New 1984N84 |--S. striata New 1984N84 |--S. subtrahens (Walker 1853) (see below for synonymy)N84 |--S. trimaculata New 1984N84 `--S. umbrata New 1984N84 Ascalaphidae incertae sedis: CordulecerusGE05 Allocormodes intractabilis (Walker 1859) [=Ascalaphus intractabilis, Cormodes intractabilis]HM55 HelicomitusN84 |--H. aethiopicus Kimmins 1949HM55 `--H. festivus (Rambur 1842) (see below for synonymy)HM55 Phalascusa braueri Weele 1908HM55 Cratopteryx robertosantosi Martins-Neto & Vulcano 1989RJ93 Glyptobasis M’Lachlan 1871E00 PseudoptynxRD77 Eremoides bicristatusEWB18 Bubopsis andromacheVM20 Neadelphus protae MacLeod 1970P92
Helicomitus festivus (Rambur 1842) [=Bubo festivus, Ascalaphus festivus, Encyoposis festivus; incl. Suhpalacsa africanus McLachlan 1871, E. amicus McLachlan 1871, E. bilineata Kolbe 1897, E. flavostigma Kolbe 1897]HM55
*Suhpalacsa flavipes (Leach 1814) [=Ascalaphus flavipes, Bubo flavipes, Suhpalasca (l. c.) flavipes; incl. A. importunus Walker 1853, Suphalasca (l. c.) laeta Gerstaecker 1885]N84
Suhpalacsa incospicua McLachlan 1871 [=Suhpalasca (l. c.) inconspicua; incl. Suhpalacsa humeralis Navás 1914]N84
Suhpalacsa subtrahens (Walker 1853) [=Ascalaphus subtrahens, Suhpalasca (l. c.) subtrahens; incl. Suphalasca (l. c.) moesta Gerstaecker 1885]N84
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[E00] Engel, M. S. 2000. Classification of the bee tribe Augochlorini (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 250: 1–89.
[EWB18] Engel, M. S., S. L. Winterton & L. C. V. Breitkreuz. 2018. Phylogeny and evolution of Neuropterida: where have wings of lace taken us? Annual Review of Entomology 63: 531–551.
[FS01] Ferreira, R. L., & M. S. Silva. 2001. Biodiversity under rocks: the role of microhabitats in structuring invertebrate communities in Brazilian outcrops. Biodiversity and Conservation 10: 1171–1183.
[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.
[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.
[HM55] Handschin, E., & W. Markl. 1955. Neuropteren aus Angola. Diamang Publicações Culturais 27: 65–82.
[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.
[N84] New, T. R. 1984. Revision of the Australian Ascalaphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Australian Journal of Zoology, Supplementary Series 100: 1–86.
[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.
[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms’ General Textbook of Entomology 10th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[VM20] Vasilikopoulos, A., B. Misof, K. Meusemann, D. Lieberz, T. Flouri, R. G. Beutel, O. Niehuis, T. Wappler, J. Rust, R. S. Peters, A. Donath, L. Podsiadlowski, C. Mayer, D. Bartel, A. Böhm, S. Liu, P. Kapli, C. Greve, J. E. Jepson, X. Liu, X. Zhou, H. Aspöck & U. Aspöck. 2020. An integrative phylogenomic approach to elucidate the evolutionary history and divergence times of Neuropterida (Insecta: Holometabola). BMC Evolutionary Biology 20: 64.
[WHW10] Winterton, S. L., N. B. Hardy & B. M. Wiegmann. 2010. On wings of lace: phylogeny and Bayesian divergence time estimates of Neuropterida (Insecta) based on morphological and molecular data. Systematic Entomology 35: 349–378.