Habitat and altitude preference of owlflies (Neuroptera) of Kerala, India

The work focuses on the habitat and altitude preferences of owlflies in the Kerala region based on the field collection data of five years. Among the five species reported from Kerala, Glyptobasis nigrifrons Kimmins, 1949 and Suphalomitus brevis Kimmins, 1949 prefer to occur only in forest habitats, and the remaining three species, i.e., Ascalaphus abdominalis (Kimmins, 1949), Ascalaphus sinister Walker, 1853 and Glyptobasis dentifera (Westwood, 1847) prefer to occur both in synanthropic and forest habitats. Only S. brevis is found at high, mid and in low altitude regions. But a majority of species such as A. sinister, A. abdominalis, and G. nigrifrons, prefer mid and low-altitude regions. Glyptobasis dentifera is only seen in the low-altitude areas.