Categories
Neuropterans: Lacewings, Antlions, and OwlfliesAdult Green Lace Wing bite
Location: Texas
April 12, 2011 8:52 pm
I have a question about the green lacewing. I know the larvae can have a nasty bite, but I know that I was bitten by an adult. I was bitten a few years ago but I remember it clearly. I was outside when it landed on my hand. I tried to shake it off, but it crawled up to my finger and bit it. I smacked at it and it flew away. I showed my dad and he killed it while it was sitting on a wall. The bite lasted for about half an hour,was swollen and red, and felt like a very strong pinch. after that time, it only itched badly for about an hour. I need to know why an adult woul bite, and how because I have always heard they are harmless but they obviously are not. Thanks!
Signature: any way
Green Lacewing
Dear any way,
We have never heard of an adult Lacewing biting someone, but since they are predators and their young, known as Aphid Lions, are notorious little buggers that frequently bite the unwary, we do not doubt that Lacewings might bite. Thanks for providing such first hand knowledge of the short term affects of the bite of the Golden Eye, another wonderfully descriptive name.
Update: We stand corrected
October 16, 2011
Thanks to the numerous comments of our readership, we concede. It seems adult Lacewings can bite, though we maintain the bite is an annoyance and of no danger to humans.
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Comments 11
I was bitten on the leg by a green lacewing this evening on my patio. I felt the bite, then grabbed it about 8 seconds later. The bite was not necessarily painful, similair to a small ant bite…but a bite nonetheless. I have always beleived these insects harmless, but feel otherwise now. I have never had a mosquito bite, nor a bee sting. I am not especially prone to bites, so this was EXTREMELY surprising to me. I will say that these green lacewings are a quite a bit larger than I have seen in the past, which gives me some concern. Thoughts, concerns?
Posted 08 May 2011 at 12:13 am ¶In our opinion, even though a Lacewing might bite a human, the bite is not dangerous, nor do we believe the bite to be intentional on the part of the Lacewing. Many insects will bite when carelessly handled, or when accidentally encountered, and since very few insects actually possess any venom, these bites are nothing more than a slight annoyance.
Posted 09 May 2011 at 10:46 am ¶I too have experienced the bite of a green lacewing on more than one occasion. The bites I have received hurt and itch and were more than a “slight annoyance”. I had to laugh when I read, “Many insects will bite when carelessly handled, or when accidentally encountered”. In what category would you put SITTING at night, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature? BTW, they also have a horrible odor. I found this out the first time I was bit and inadvertently slapped (squished) the poor little thing.
This site is great. My 5 year old daughter has been fascinated with bugs since birth (or so it seems) and loves when she can identify a bug she has found.
Posted 21 May 2011 at 2:32 pm ¶The green lacewing here in central California is a vicious little stinker! It will send grown men screaming to safety. We leave them alone as they provide wonderful pest control – even after I developed an allergy to them last year!
Posted 18 Jul 2011 at 3:18 pm ¶And, yes, they do attack for no reason at all!
Dear notbuggedatall,
Posted 18 Jul 2011 at 10:49 pm ¶Interestingly, while on the way to work today, Daniel felt a sting on his wrist and looked down to find a minuscule Lacewing Larva in the vicinity. Since he was driving and did not want to blow the larva out onto the road, Daniel drove to his destination as the Lacewing Larva bit a second time. A burning sensation lasted a few minutes and that was followed by a raised bump, slightly smaller than a mosquito bite, that lasted a few additional hours.
I too have been bitten by an adult lacewing. The bite is a sharp pain like a pin prick or an injection, but tht is all it does to me. Of course, I also don’t get bumps from mosquito bites so it may just be me. What is really annoying is that a person’s first rection is to slap at the bite. When you crush them or even annoy them enough, they release a very foul smell.
Posted 10 Aug 2011 at 2:25 am ¶Thank you for your comment.
Posted 10 Aug 2011 at 4:09 am ¶I live in southeastern New Mexico. I have intermittently been finding bites on my legs when I wear shorts outside at night in our pecan orchard. Last night I slapped something biting me and it was an adult lacewing. I had previously noticed I would only receive bites if I had used a pomegranate scented soap, and I used that same soap for the first time in a few months yesterday. I think the lacewings are attracted to it as they were practically swarming me at dusk yesterday when I was bitten. Tonight I am out by the orchard with my iPad and a few lacewings have been attracted to it’s light, but no bites tonight; probably because I didn’t use fruit scented soap today. Nonetheless, I am glad to have the lacewings. Our pecan trees have plenty of aphids to keep them busy!
Posted 12 Aug 2011 at 9:58 pm ¶We have long suspected that cosmetic products attract certain bees and wasps, but the Lacewing attracting properties of fruit scented soap is a new one for us. Thanks for the insight.
Posted 12 Aug 2011 at 10:04 pm ¶Thank gosh for this website! I did a bit of surfing only to discover something like “lacewings are harmless to humans” or “lacewings do not bite humans” on every other site, many of them being academic… Hmmm. Anyway, I live on an almond ranch in northern California and have most of my life. I learned early on that these things do bite and do so quite frequently. In the past 20 years I’ve observed these little critters casually fluttering around me on summer nights. I quickly learned that they do this just prior to casually landing on me and then casually biting me. I say “casually” because it never seems to be direct or hurried attack like that of a mosquito. In fact, a very casual, slow-motion swat at one causes it to casually leave(last time a say “casual,” I promis). And, as someone else pointed out, they really stink! I learned not to squish then about five seconds after I learned they bite, again some 20 odd years ago. In keeping with their (cough)type of demeanor, I’ve found that should one make a successful landing all I have to do to get rid of it permanently if blow on it. I’m no expert on lacewings, but I will say that it’s gotten to the point that I readily distinguish the difference between a lacewing biting and a mosquito biting on the back of my neck based simply on sensation. Only one ever receives a slap, for smell is far worse than the bite.
Posted 13 Sep 2011 at 5:46 am ¶Your observations, casual or otherwise, are much appreciated. We imagine that living on an almond ranch, you appreciate the appetites that Lacewings have for Aphids. We were at first skeptical about the reports that Lacewings bite, and we like your assessment that the bites on humans are not premeditated since they have nothing to do with feeding. Though they seem to bite more than we originally thought, we still maintain that they are harmless to humans, though it also seems that it is possible to be allergic to just about anything, and some folk might have a hypersensitivity to the bites of Lacewings.
Posted 13 Sep 2011 at 7:21 am ¶Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.
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