Good Bugs . . .

The other night I noticed that the Green Lacewings were out. I usually can find them on the inside of our screens (besides out in the garden); I suppose they are attracted to the lights in our house. They are bright green and have sheer, lacy wings---hence their name---and they have bright yellow compound eyes. These insects come out at night and feed on pollen, nectar and aphid honeydew.


They lay 100-200 eggs on leaves that are close to aphid populations. They lay their eggs on many different garden plants, including corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, leafy greens, apples, strawberries and cole crops. I have seen them over the years in my garden. The eggs hatch in a few days and then the fun begins!




The larvae are also known as aphidlions. When they hatch they are voracious predators. They eat most insects, especially the soft bodied aphids, caterpillars and insect eggs. If there is a high population of aphidlions, they will even eat each other. When they find an insect, they grab it and inject their pray with a digestive secretion. This secretion can dissolve the organs of an aphid in 90 seconds! These larvae can eat 100-600 aphids each, but sometimes have trouble finding their pray on leaves that are hairy or sticky.

Do you have trouble with aphids? Now you know who to call! Green Lacewings can be purchased online, just like many other beneficial insects.