Nature on our doorsteps: Lovely Lacewings

Rosaleen Dwyer is the County Heritage Officer at South Dublin County Council – every week she gives us an insight into the natural heritage around us and the beautiful biodiversity of the plants and creatures

The lovely Lacewing insect can sometimes be seen in the chemical-free garden.

This dainty creature is a member of the Chrysopidae family of insects.

The family name derives from the Greek word ‘chrysos’, meaning gold, and ‘ops’ meaning eye, or face.

This describes the appearance of many of the Lacewing species very well, as they tend to have shiny, copper-coloured eyes.

The Green Lacewing has a slender, elongated, lime-green body.

Their wings are transparent, with a lovely pattern of raised veins that give them a delicate, lace-like appearance.

Their shiny eyes are relatively large against their slender heads, and their antennae are long and thread-like.

Lacewing larvae, however, look very different from the adults.

They have brown, elongated, flattened bodies with 6 legs that emerge from the head end.

The body tapers to a point at the other end, making them look like tiny alligators.

They also have large, curved jaws which they use very effectively to catch their prey.

While most adult Lacewings feed on pollen and nectar, the adults of some species will also eat aphids, or greenfly.

Their larvae, however, are voracious hunters of aphids.

They use their curved jaws to spear their prey, and they feed on so many that they are sometimes referred to as ‘aphid lions’.

They will also eat mealy bugs, mites, and other soft-bodied insects, including small caterpillars.

The larvae of some Lacewings have bristly hairs along their bodies.

After the larva has sucked its prey dry, it camouflages itself by sticking the empty carcasses onto these hairs.

This disguise helps to protect the larva from its own predators.

Lacewing females have an interesting way of keeping their eggs safe.

Before she lays an egg on the underside of a leaf, she releases a sticky fluid onto the leaf first.

She then lays the egg onto this fluid and, before it dries, she extends the fluid into a long thin stalk.

This leaves the egg suspended away from the leaf, safe from potential predators.