silky lacewing

plural silky lacewings

1. biologyAny insect of the family Psychopsidae.

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

   1983, Grolier Society of Australia, The Australian Encyclopaedia, volume 6, page 45

   2 more examples

   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.

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

   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).

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

   Synonyms: psychopsid