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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Nemoptera sinuata
Neuroptera / Nemopteridae
Nemoptera sinuata carries a pair of exceptionally narrow, elongated hindwings behind its patterned forewings. In Bulgaria’s Struma Valley, adults feed on pollen and appear in sunny river-gorge habitats during late spring and early summer.
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Nemoptera sinuata belongs to Nemopteridae within Neuroptera. The accepted name is attributed to Olivier, 1811. [3]
The forewings form broad flight surfaces, while the hindwings extend into long, narrow, spoon-shaped structures. [2]
Popov’s field observations in the Struma Valley, Bulgaria, place adults in open, sunny areas of river gorges. The observed flight period extended from mid-May to late June. [1]
Females deposited eggs directly on the ground, most often in the morning. Under the study conditions, eggs usually hatched after 23–25 days. The spherical, opaque white eggs had a single micropyle, and the hatchling cut off a lid with its egg-breaking structure. [1]
Adults feed on pollen and nectar. In the Bulgarian field observations, they fed most often at flowers of Achillea coarctata. [2]
Adults were most active around midday in the Struma Valley observations. Males appeared approximately one week before females. [1]
The maxillae form the principal food-uptake apparatus. Brush-like structures move differently during pollen collection and nectar feeding: video analysis distinguished faster, longer motion sequences for collecting pollen from shorter, slower sequences during nectar feeding. [2]
Captive hatchlings buried themselves roughly one centimetre into the substrate. [1]
Popov, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 48 · Accessed 2026-10-13
European Journal of Entomology105 · Accessed 2026-10-13
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · Accessed 2026-10-13
Sources checked 2026-10-13. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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