Green Lacewing—A Beneficial Insect
With a Wide Range of Prey

The green lacewing (Chrysoperla rufilabris) is widely used to control many different pests. The adult lacewings do not kill insects. They live on foods such as nectar, pollen and honeydew. It's their predacious offspring that get the job done.

The female lacewing lays more than 200 eggs on the foliage of plants.

When the eggs hatch, tiny predatory larvae emerge, hungry and ready to eat pests.

Lacewing larvae are also known as aphid lions. They're very small when they emerge from the egg, but grow to 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) long.

The larvae attack their prey by grabbing them with their jaws and injecting them with a paralyzing venom. They then suck out the body fluids of the pest.

Of all the beneficial insects raised commercially, the lacewing is the most aggressive and has the widest range of pests. They eat insects in field crops, orchards and greenhouses.

They attack the eggs and the immature stages of aphids, thrips, spider mites, sweet potato whitefly, greenhouse whitefly, mealybugs and leafhoppers. They also eat the eggs and caterpillars of most pest moths.

A lacewing larva can devour 200 or more pests or pest eggs a week. When the larval stage is complete, it pupates by building a cocoon of silken thread. In about 5 days, the adult emerges to mate and continue the life cycle. The adult green lacewing lives approximately 4-6 weeks.

To keep lacewings around your area, encourage them with nectar and honeydew. Wheast is a commercial nutrient sold to help in their reproduction.

If you decide to buy and use lacewings in your pest management program, be sure to obtain them before the pests are really active. Waiting till the last minute will not produce favorable results.

Start with a low number of green lacewings and build up to what you need to get the pest reduction job done.

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