Owlfly
| Owlfly Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| both female Libelloides macaronius Istria, Croatia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Neuroptera |
| Clade: | Myrmeleontiformia |
| Family: | Ascalaphidae Rambur, 1842 |
| Subfamilies | |
and see text | |
Ascalaphidae is a family of insects in the order Neuroptera, commonly called owlflies; there are some 450 extant species. They are fast-flying crepuscular or diurnal predators of other flying insects, and have large bulging eyes and strongly knobbed antennae. The larvae are ambush predators; some of them make use of self-decoration camouflage.