Lacewings are one of the most important pest controllers and beneficial insects in the world. Here, we tell you everything you might like to know about them.
A common generalist predator in North America, Lacewings are considered to be a gardener’s friend.
There are about 1300 species of lacewings spread across 87 different genera around the world.
Lacewings are one of the most economically important families under the order Neuroptera, thanks to their ability to keep pest populations in control.
Let’s dive into it right away and find out more about these helpful insects.
What Are Lacewings?
Lacewings are a large group of insects under the order Neuroptera, known for their insectivorous feeding habit.
They feed on a variety of common garden and agricultural pests during the larval stage of their lives.
While there are more than a thousand different species of lacewings, we can broadly divide them into two families – green lacewings and brown lacewings.
All lacewing species share several common characteristics, such as chewing mouthparts and two pairs of wings.
Divided into three segments like all other insects, their long and thin bodies are akin to that of a dragonfly.
However, unlike dragonflies, lacewings keep their wings folded over their backs. These insects earn their name from the veins that crisscross their transparent wings to create a lacy appearance.
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Types of lacewings
Green lacewings
When talking about lacewings, people usually mean the green lacewing family.
They’re much more common than brown lacewings and are often called “common green lacewings” and “common lacewings.”
Scientifically known as Chrysopidae, this family comprises several genera, among which Chrysopa and Chrysoperla are the most common in North America and Europe.
Green lacewings grow up to 0.50 to 0.75 inches and feature a slender, greenish body with delicate and long antennae.
They have copper-colored eyes that have earned them the name “golden-eyed lacewing,” too. Another common name for the green lacewing is “stink fly”, thanks to the unpleasant odor they release in self-defense.
Many species of green lacewings turn brown as they age, which makes them impossible to distinguish from brown lacewings visually.
Brown Lacewings
These lacewings belong to the family Hemerobiidae and share a similar appearance as green lacewings apart from the color difference.
They have brown bodies, as their name indicates. The wings may sometimes have dark spots too. Like green lacewings, the brown ones feed on various common plant pests too.
However, they are relatively rarer, and the chances of sighting them in your garden are lower too.
The brown lacewing larva displays an interesting behavior – it carries various debris, including bits of its prey, using hooks and bristles on its back.
Such behavior has led to people commonly referring to these insects as the “trash bug”. By camouflaging themselves with the debris, brown lacewings can stay hidden from predators and prey alike.
How To Identify Green Lacewings That Have Turned Brown?
Some species of green lacewings change their color as they age, taking up a reddish, grayish, or brown shade.
This usually occurs during early spring, making it difficult to distinguish the color-changing species from the actual brown lacewings.
Here are some other differences between brown and green lacewings besides their colors:
- The coastal cross veins on the wings of a brown lacewing are Y-shaped, while a green lacewing has straight and unbranched coastal cross veins.
- In brown lacewings, the first abdominal segment is longer than the second and third ones. This makes their necks more prominent as compared to green lacewings.
- Green lacewing larvae have an empodium (a trumpet-like appendage) between their tarsal claws and the end of their feet. This appendage is missing in brown lacewings.
Where Do lacewings Live?
Thankfully, these natural predators are present all over the world. You can find different lacewing species throughout North America.
The US and Canada house 87 different species of lacewings distributed across 14 genera.
As for their habitat, lacewings typically prefer plenty of vegetation. You’ll usually find them in wildlands, gardens, tree crops, farmlands, and fields.
This is because the adult lacewing lives on a diet comprising nectar, honeydew, and yeasts – all of which they have to collect from plants.
What Do They Eat?
It’s the feeding habit of the lacewing larvae that make these insects so beneficial.
Also known as aphid lions and aphid wolves due to their ability to eat hundreds of aphids, they feed on a variety of soft-bodied insects.
These include common garden pests like aphids, mites, caterpillars, mealybugs, leafhoppers, lace bugs, thrips, scales, etc.
Although not all lacewing species display an equally impressive appetite, many of the common ones can eat up to 200 aphids in a single week.
The Green lacewing adult usually feeds on plant-based foods like pollen, nectar, and honeydew.
However, some of them are predaceous and also prey on the soft-bodied insects mentioned earlier.
The brown lacewing adult and larvae are both insectivorous and can help with pest control too.
What is the Lifecycle of Lacewings?
Lacewings have a rather short lifespan, ranging from about six to ten weeks in total.
They undergo a full metamorphosis, consisting of four life cycle stages like other insect species, emerging as larvae and pupating into adults.
- Eggs: Adult female lacewings lay about 100 to 300 eggs on average, usually on plant hairs or underneath leaves. Although a green lacewing egg is an initially pale green, it turns gray before hatching.
- Larvae: This is the most important stage in the lacewing’s role as a natural pest control agent. Lacewing larvae range from yellow to brown, with a mottled appearance. Their spindle-shaped structure is somewhat similar to that of alligators, and they even have spines at the sides. Lacewing larvae possess strong mouthparts that allow them to kill their prey and inject them with digestive juices.
- Pupae: After three instars and two to three weeks of development, the lacewing larvae are mature and ready to pupate. Lacewing pupae are usually green, surrounded by opaque, silken cocoons that are yellow or white. This stage lasts around five days.
- Adults: The adults emerge at the end of pupation and live for 20 to 40 days. As mentioned earlier, they have green or brown bodies and large eyes. During the few weeks, they spend as adults, the lacewings mate and lay eggs for the next generation to hatch from.
Where Do They Lay Eggs?
Female lacewings might lay the eggs in groups or singly. Many species of female lacewings lay them individually on the tips of stalks.
This helps prevent the newborn larvae from resorting to cannibalism. You may also find clusters of lacewing eggs around prey infestations.
Do They Bite or Sting?
Lacewings do not possess stingers and are, therefore, incapable of stinging. However, their bites are still painful and can cause a red and itchy bump on the skin.
This isn’t anything serious, and you’ll lose the bump and the discomfort within a day.
Adult lacewings don’t bite humans very often, but the larvae might get provoked if you come in contact with them while working in the garden.
Are They Poisonous or Venomous?
Although their bite can be painful, lacewings aren’t venomous or poisonous. The itchiness and the bump are caused by the caustic acid in their saliva.
Although the saliva is corrosive enough to break down their prey and make them more digestible, it doesn’t pose much of a threat to humans.
Are They Harmful to Humans as Pests?
Lacewings are quite the opposite of what we’d define as a pest. Many gardeners even buy lacewings or raise them from eggs to use for pest control purposes.
With their seemingly insatiable appetite and their tendency to lay hundreds of eggs, lacewings can quickly clamp down on garden pests.
If you find lacewing eggs in your garden, you can spread them around plants prone to pest infestations.
Can They Come Inside Homes?
Lacewings generally tend to live outdoors, where they can easily find suitable food sources.
However, the adults often enter homes in autumn and winter, drawn by the warmth.
They seek cozy hibernation sites around this time, and warm indoor environments are perfect for this.
What Are Lacewings Attracted To?
Adult lacewings are typically drawn to places with a variety of colorful flowers. As mentioned previously, they need pollen and nectar to sustain themselves.
If you’re trying to attract more lacewings to your garden, planting flowers like Queen Anne’s lace, goldenrod, marguerite daisies, cosmos, and yarrow should help.
How To Get Rid of lacewings?
You don’t need to get rid of lacewings from your garden as they’re harmless and help protect your plants from pests.
However, if too many of them start entering your home during the colder months, it might pose a problem. The best way to get rid of them is to pick them up by the wings and gently release them outside.
If there are too many lacewings for manual removal, you may consider using pest control products instead.
Interesting Facts About lacewings
Before I end finish, here are some interesting facts about these delicate insects that you might want to know:
- Lacewings kill their prey by piercing them with needle-like teeth and injecting digestive juices. The juices dissolve the prey’s body from the inside, which the lacewing can then suck up.
- Adults have ears located at the base of their wings and are capable of hearing the echolocation signals released by bats. This gives them time to close up their wings and potentially avoid detection.
- When lacewings feel threatened, they release an unpleasant smell. It helps them deter predators from eating them.
Wrapping Up
I hope you enjoyed learning about this delicate insect and that the article has answered all the queries you had about them.
If you’re a plant parent, feel free to get some lacewings in your garden. By feeding on adult pests, their larvae, and insect eggs alike, they’ll significantly reduce your pest control expenses.
You’ll have to stay away from using pesticides, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Thank you for reading, and I hope you’ll manage to include lacewings in your pest control strategy.
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