Towards a revision of the entire-eyed owlflies (Ascalaphidae: Haplogleniinae)

The Haplogleniinae, or “entire-eyed owlflies”, are large, dragonfly-like insects that are predaceous as both larvae and adults, but about which little additional biological information is known. The subfamily comprises approximately 90 described species distributed primarily in the Neotropical, Afrotropical, and Oriental biogeographic regions. As a group, haplogleniines have traditionally been characterized by the absence of a sulcus running transversely across the eye. It has been suspected, however, that this feature is plesiomorphic, and the monophyly of the subfamily requires corroboration. The taxonomy of the subfamily has not been comprehensively evaluated since its last major revision in 1908, and the phylogenetic relationships among its constituent taxa have not been investigated with modern analytical methods. Here, a review of the systematic history of the subfamily is presented and a plan is outlined for the re-examination of its monophyly, the elucidation of phylogenetic relationships among its higher taxa, and the undertaking of a comprehensive revision of its species.