The ethereal green lacewing is one of the more recognizable garden “good guys.” With its slender pale green body, delicate gossamer wings, and immense golden eyes, it gives the appearance of a fairy prancing on garden leaves rather than the aggressive predator that it is.
Lacewings, also called aphid lions, are natural enemies of several species of aphids, spider mites, leafhoppers, mealybugs, leafminers, psyillids, thrips, whiteflies, small caterpillars, beetle larvae, and insect eggs. The easily identifiable adults, commonly found in garden habitats, are not the main predators – it’s their alligator-shaped larvae that are the voracious hunters. The adults feed only on nectar, pollen and honeydew produced by sucking insects.
The fierce, grayish to brown, mottled, and spiny larvae have a flattened body tapered at the tail, with distinct legs, with large pinchers. These pinchers help distinguish them from lady beetle larvae which are superficially similar in appearance.
In our mild winter area, green lacewings can be found throughout the year. Their rather unique eggs are laid singly or in clusters at the ends of long silken stalks. They hatch in about four days, followed by a larval stage that takes about ten days when temperatures are mildly warm. Mature instars spin spherical, parchment-like, silken cocoons and attach to plants or under loose bark to pupate, with adults emerging ten – fourteen days later.
Adult green lacewings can often be spotted resting on leaves, with their large, transparent, highly veined wings held over their one-half to three-quarters inch long, delicate body. While they are active fliers, they do most of it during evening and night with a characteristic, fluttering flight, often being drawn to light.
Some species of green lacewings are commercially available and sold as adults, eggs, or larvae. To increase the effectiveness of resident natural enemies and any that are released:
- Avoid the use of broad-spectrum and persistent insecticides and miticides.
- Control ants and dust.
- Grow flowering plants that provide nectar and pollen for adults (insectary plants).
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