Green Lacewing

Green Lacewings are delicate, soft-bodied insects in the family Chrysopidae, with the genus Chrysoperla among the most common and widespread in North America, Europe, and beyond. Adults are easily recognized by their pale green bodies, large lacy, veined wings, and prominent golden or copper-colored eyes, which give the family its evocative common name.

While adults of some species feed on nectar, pollen, and honeydew, the larvae are fierce predators, earning them the nickname "aphid lions" for their voracious appetite for aphids and other small, soft-bodied insects. Larvae have elongated, spindle-shaped bodies with large, sickle-like mandibles used to pierce prey and drain their body fluids, and some species camouflage themselves by piling debris and prey remains on their backs.

Because of their significant appetite for aphids, mites, and other small pest insects, Green Lacewings are widely valued as natural predators in gardens and agricultural settings, and their larvae are commercially reared and released for biological control. Adults are also frequently attracted to lights at night, making them a familiar sight around porch lights and windows in summer.

• Adult: slender body, pale green in color, with two pairs of large, delicate, net-veined wings held roof-like over the body at rest
• Prominent golden, copper, or amber-colored compound eyes
• Long, thread-like antennae
• Weak, fluttery flight, often seen near lights at night
• Larvae: elongated, tapered, alligator-like body with large curved mandibles, often mottled brown or tan and sometimes camouflaged with debris
• Lookalikes: Brown Lacewings are smaller and brown rather than green; some green lacewing species can only be told apart by close examination or their distinctive courtship songs

Green Lacewings are found in a wide range of vegetated habitats, including gardens, meadows, hedgerows, agricultural fields, and woodland edges, wherever aphids and other small soft-bodied insects are present as prey for the larvae. They are common across most of North America and much of the world, with peak activity in warmer months from spring through fall.

Adult Green Lacewings are mostly nocturnal and are frequently drawn to artificial lights. Depending on species, adults may feed on nectar, pollen, and honeydew, or in some cases prey on small insects as well. Larvae are active, mobile predators that hunt aphids, mites, small caterpillars, insect eggs, and other soft-bodied prey, using their large mandibles to inject digestive fluids and consume the liquefied contents. This predatory behavior makes lacewing larvae valuable allies in controlling populations of common garden and crop pests, and the species plays an important role in natural pest regulation within its ecosystem.

Green Lacewings undergo complete metamorphosis with egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. Females lay distinctive eggs, each suspended on the end of a thin silken stalk attached to leaves or stems, a strategy thought to help protect eggs from cannibalistic siblings and other predators. Larvae hatch and immediately begin hunting small prey, passing through three instars over one to a few weeks while feeding voraciously. When fully grown, the larva spins a round silken cocoon in which it pupates, emerging after one to two weeks as a winged adult. Multiple generations can occur each year in warmer climates, with some species overwintering as prepupae or adults in sheltered locations.