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Pest control having breakfast- Green Lacewing
The common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperla rufilabris) is a widely used beneficial insect which naturally controls many different pests. Actually, the adult stage of this beneficial does not kill other insects but subsist on pollen, sweet nectar, etc., as you can see in the photo (which was taken during morning hours, hence the title).
It is their offspring or Lacewing larvae that do the job. The adult lays her eggs on the foliage, each on the top of hairlike filaments. After a few days the Lacewing eggs hatch and a tiny larvae emerges which is also known as the “aphid lion” because of its
voracious appetite.
Green Lacewing larvae are similar in appearance to an alligator with pincers like tiny ice tongs, and vigorously attacks its prey, injecting a paralyzing venom then drawing out the body fluids of its victim. Besides aphids, they feed on just about any soft-bodied pest they can including citrus mealybugs, cottony cushion scale, spider mites, thrips, caterpillars, insect eggs, etc. It is known to be cannibalistic if no other food source is available. During the two to three weeks in this stage it will devour up to 200 victims a week. After this, it will pupate by spinning a cocoon with silken thread and approximately five days later the adult Lacewing emerges to complete the life cycle.
Lacewing Larvae
Lacewing larvae or "aphid lions" are similar in appearance to an alligator with pincers like tiny ice tongs, and vigorously attacks its prey, injecting a paralyzing venom then drawing out the body fluids of its victim. Besides aphids, lacewing feed on just about any soft-bodied pest they can "grab," including citrus mealybugs, cottony cushion scale, spider mites, thrips, caterpillars, insect eggs, etc. It is known to be cannibalistic if no other food source is available. During the two to three weeks in this stage it will devour up to 200 victims a week.
Info slightly edited from the internet somewhere(lost the source, sorry about that). |
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