Brown Lacewing Larva (Debris Carrier)

Gardens, orchards, forests, and agricultural lands; often found on leaves or trunks of plants infested with aphids.

Strictly carnivorous; feeds on aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, and other small soft-bodied insects using piercing-sucking mouthparts.

Larvae of some species carry corpses of their prey or bits of organic debris on their backs to camouflage themselves from predators like ants and birds. They are active hunters that undergo complete metamorphosis with a pupal stage in a silk cocoon.

Highly beneficial to the ecosystem and gardener as a natural form of pest control. They are harmless to humans, though they may occasionally nip skin with their mandibles if handled, causing mild, temporary irritation.