Nymphidae, sometimes called split-footed lacewings, are a
family of
winged insects of the
orderNeuroptera.[1] There are 35 extant species native to Australia and New Guinea.
Nymphidae stand somewhat apart from other living
Myrmeleontoidea. The antlions (
Myrmeleontidae) and the owlflies (
Ascalaphidae) are more closely related to them, but the bulk of the Nymphidae sister groups include
extinct taxa known only from
fossils, such as the Nymphitidae,
Osmylopsychopidae or
Babinskaiidae. The spoonwings (
Nemopteridae) were at one time also believed to be quite closely related, but they seem to belong to another lineage of
Myrmeleontiformia altogether. The family is divided into two major subfamilies, Nymphinae and Myiodactylinae. The larvae of nymphines are similar to antlions, with relatively elongate bodies, and camouflage themselves in debris, living and hunting on the ground, while myiodactylines have wide, disc shaped bodies, and are arboreal, living on plants.[2][3]
Fossil genera are known from Europe, Asia as well as North and South America, extending back to the Middle
Jurassic.[4]