A note about Green lacewing taxonomy \u2013 members of the genus\u00a0Chrysoperla<\/em>\u00a0are frequently encountered across North America, as are members of the genus\u00a0Chrysopa<\/em>.\u00a0They look a lot alike, their photographs can be confusing, and various species have been swapped back and forth between the two genera for a long time (and at one point, many species were lumped as a single species).\u00a0When the BugLady looks at the Green lacewing shots she\u2019s taken over the years, a number of different species seem to be represented – pale dorsal stripes on some, small thoracic spots on others, no definitive markings at all on still others – so she will keep this general.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green lacewings are in the suborder\u00a0Hemerobiiformia, which includes the\u00a0Dusty, Pleasing, Beaded, Brown, Giant and Moth, Mantid, Spoon-Winged, and Spongilla lacewing families as well as the Green lacewing family Chrysopidae (from the ancient Greek words for \u201cgold\u201d and \u201cface\u201d).\u00a0They are also called Golden-eyed lacewings and \u201cstinkflies\u201d (because members of several genera release bad-smells when handled), and their larvae are known as aphid lions or aphid wolves.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201calligator-like<\/em>\u201d larvae live up to their nicknames, grabbing insects – including eggs, pupae, and caterpillars\u00a0https:\/\/bugguide.net\/<\/a>\u00a0but especially aphids – with their sickle-shaped jaws, injecting them with a paralyzing venom, and sucking out the softened innards<\/a>\u00a0(which, in the case of an aphid, takes about 90 seconds). They often hold their prey aloft as they\u2019re draining it.\u00a0Some sources report that the larvae wave their abdomens back and forth as they roam the leaf tops, and others say that they swing their heads back and forth, seizing prey when they bump into it (their sense of touch is well-developed).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also said that some species can account for 100 to 200 aphids a week, and if they can\u2019t find their normal quota of prey, they have no qualms about eating other lacewing larvae.\u00a0Depending on the species, adults may be predators, or they may be vegetarians that feed on nectar, pollen, and honeydew (the sugar water exuded by some bugs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lots of insects and spiders eat lacewings. Adults are nocturnal and are poor flyers, but they can hear the echolocation calls of bats and avoid them by folding their wings (presenting a smaller target) and dropping to the ground.\u00a0Some parasitic wasps search out lacewing cocoons and lay their eggs on them, and their larvae eat the cocoon\u2019s contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Green lacewings court by \u201csinging.\u201d\u00a0Males vibrate their abdomen and send a signal out through the substrate, and females hear\/feel his song through their legs and respond with their own, identical song, the pair singing part duet\/part call-and-response.\u00a0Even though we may not be able to tell species apart visually, their songs differentiate them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Females make stalks by touching the underside of a leaf or twig with their abdomen and then pulling back, extracting a thread (manufactured in her reproductive system) that hardens immediately, and they place an egg on top of each stalk<\/a>\u00a0(and some create a cool, spiral pattern<\/a>). Eggs are laid where there are aphids nearby.\u00a0It\u2019s theorized that suspending the eggs protects them from predators, including their newly-hatched, immediately-hungry siblings. About three weeks after hatching, mature larvae spin cocoons in the vegetation<\/a>, and adults emerge about five days later.\u00a0There are several broods per year, and they overwinter as adults or as pupae.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some species of Green lacewings have hairy\/spiny, \u201ctrash-carrying<\/em>\u201d larvae \u2013 larvae that stick debris – and sometimes bits of dead prey – to their backs, creating a shield that they present to aggressors.\u00a0 Does the disguise help them avoid aphid-farming ants?\u00a0Hide them from predators?\u00a0Watch this very cool video<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of their dining habits, lacewing larvae are sold as a biological control of aphids, the Catch 22 being that when they\u2019ve finished eating the aphids or mature as adults, they may move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Note from the Pulpit: Because of their nocturnal habits, adult lacewings are often attracted to and killed by bug zappers. The vast (vast) majority of insects killed by bug zappers (about 95% in one study and more than 99% in another) are NOT target species like mosquitoes and other biting flies (which are not attracted to the zapper\u2019s UV light).\u00a0The vast (vast) majority are pollinators like moths, or predators like lacewings, or just innocent passers-by.\u00a0At a time when insect numbers are going down globally, and we recognize all the \u201cecosystem services\u201d they provide (including feeding the birds), the idea of this degree of collateral damage is repugnant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fun Lacewing Facts (from the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences).<\/p>\n\n\n\n CICADA ADDENDA<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week\u2019s cicada story is the gift that keeps on giving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ERRATUM – the quote about cicadas mistaking people for trees, mistakenly attributed to the EPA, was actually from\u00a0Cicada Mania<\/em>. The BugLady thought it sounded a bit un-EPA-ish, but she had just been on their site, and her brain hiccoughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AND ELABORATION<\/a> – Thanks, BugFan Bob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AND SUPER POWERS (Oh My!) \u2013 the wings of cicadas and a number of other groups like honey bees, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies have what one scientists calls \u201canti-biofouling and antimicrobial<\/em>\u201d properties!\u00a0Not chemically antimicrobial but structurally antimicrobial. How does that work? The surface of the wings is covered with \u201cnanopillars\u201d \u2013 columnar structures with a diameter of about 100 nanometers (one-one thousandth the diameter of a human hair), with \u201cspikey\u201d tips.\u00a0Bacteria that land on them literally get impaled, tearing their cell walls, which kills them.\u00a0The nanopillars are (somehow) self-cleaning, getting rid of the debris that might serve as a medium for more bacteria to grow.\u00a0Scientists are hoping to copy the system<\/a>. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BugLady<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n Note: Most links leave to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, These lovely, fragile-looking insects have fluttered around the edges of several BOTWs over the past 17-plus years, and it\u2019s time for them to have an episode of their own. A bit …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32664,"featured_media":14863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[607,158,801,800,614,267,609],"class_list":["post-14858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bug-of-the-week","tag-bugs","tag-caterpillars","tag-cicada-addenda","tag-green-lacewings","tag-insects","tag-lacewings","tag-larvae"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"bug](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2024\/04\/gr-lacewing-larva18-1.webp\")
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