Lacewings (5807)

Green and Brown Lacewings (Chrysopidae and Haemorobiidae)
Green lacewing adults are 6/10 to 9/10 inch in length, green with transparent wings with an interconnecting network of fine veins. The many different species are difficult to distinguish, but the adult of the most common green lacewing species has golden eyes. The adults feed on nectar, honeydew, and pollen with females producing 400 to 500 eggs each over a relatively long life of up to 3 months. Green lacewing eggs are laid on the tips of long, white, hair-like stalks to prevent cannibalism. The larvae (called aphid lions) are generalist predators of mites, thrips, soft scales, and almost any other soft-bodied prey. They are voracious aphid predators, eating 100 to 600 aphids during a 1 to 2 week development period and can be important predators of moth eggs and larvae as well. Prey are seized in hollow, sickle-like jaws protruding from the head and sucked dry. The larvae make a small, round, and white pupal case, often on the stem or calyx end of the fruit where they overwinter or, in the case of one species, overwinter as adults in bark crevices and other protected places.

For more information: "Green & Brown Lacewings"

Penn State Entomology Dept.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

Feel free to forward, post or reprint any of the "Solutions" in their entirely, but please credit http://www.solutions.psu.edu/ as the original source of information, and please do not change the content.