Junk bug (Green Lacewing Larva)

Natural Habitat

Gardens, agricultural fields, forests, and suburban landscapes throughout North America.

Diet & Feeding

Voracious predators that eat aphids, mites, scale insects, whiteflies, and other small soft-bodied insects.

Behavior Patterns

The larvae often use hooked hairs on their backs to carry a 'trash pile' or 'junk' consisting of dead prey carcasses, lichen, and debris to camouflage themselves from predators and sneak up on prey.

Risks & Benefits

Highly beneficial to the ecosystem as biological pest control; they can occasionally nip human skin if handled, causing a minor, harmless itch, but they are not dangerous.

Identified on: 3/20/2026