Los estadios larvarios de los Crisópidos ibéricos (Insecta, Neuroptera, Chrysopidae), nuevos elementos sobre la morfología larvaria aplicables a la sistemática de la familia

After a brief historical introduction to the knowledge of chrysopid immature stages, their biology, behaviour, and especially interesting morphological features, we review the preimaginal stages of the Iberian species (38 of the 49 Iberian species, belonging to the 13 Iberian genera). Our presentation includes information from the literature and new descriptions by the authors after collecting gravid females, obtaining eggs and rearing larvae. Specifically, it provides new information on the biology, behavior, appearance, pigmentation and detailed chaetotaxy of the neonate and mature larvae of these 38 species, and describes for the first time the preimaginal stages of Chrysopa dorsalis, Nineta guadarramensis, Suarius iberiensis and Italochrysa stigmatica. We propose a series of morphological characters that differentiate the Iberian larvae at subfamilial, tribal, generic, and species levels. At the subfamilial level: morphology of the antenna and sensilla number of the last segment of labial palp. At the generic level: cephalic chaetotaxy, presence or absence of a transverse row of setae on the mesonotum, number of dorsal and laterodorsal tubercles on the abdomen, morphology and size of the lateral tubercles of the thorax, and morphology of the setae. And at the species level: cephalic pigmentation, morphology of the claw, shape of the mesothoracic spiracle, shape of the prothoracic laterodorsal sclerite, number and length of the setae on lateral and laterodorsal abdominal tubercles, number of setae of the posteroventral row on the tenth abdominal segment, and integumentary coloration. Based on these characters, the article offers a key that enables the identification of subfamilies, genera and Iberian species of Chrysopidae. We found that the use of larval morphological characters supports, in general, the current classification based on imagoes, but the study of the larval morphology of these species, has allowed us to detect a number of anomalies that question the validity or the taxonomic identity of what, until now, we understood about some Iberian species (Pseudomallada prasinus, Chrysopa nigricostata, Chrysopa phyllochroma, and Chrysopa viridana). Globally, general ignorance of the larval morphology of many genera in this family limits, for now, the used of larval morphological characters in general taxonomic and systematic studies. Thus we recommend more detailed and complete larval descriptions of a larger number of species in a greater number and broader range of genera, tribes, and subfamilies worldwide. In addition to the morphological infor