Green Lacewing
Chrysoperla nipponensis
A green-clad stalker that carries its prey’s remains on its back
The green lacewing is delicate, with net-like wing veins and compound eyes that gleam bronze-gold — a common, fragile-looking flier in gardens and farmland. Its larva, however, is a ferocious aphid killer that often carries the empty shells of its victims on its back as camouflage, earning it the nickname “aphid lion.”
Key figures
- Length
- About 10–15 mm; slender body with clearly visible net-like wing veins
- Life cycle
- Several generations a year in warm regions; adults live for a few weeks
- Habitat
- Farmland, orchards and vegetation at forest edges
- Diet
- Larvae are carnivorous and prey on aphids; adults mostly feed on pollen and aphid honeydew
- Camouflage
- Larvae often carry the remains of their prey on their backs as disguise, earning them the nickname “aphid lion”
- Light attraction
- Adult compound eyes reflect a golden sheen at night and show strong attraction to light
Life cycle
Egg (suspended on a silk stalk) → Larva (aphid lion) → Pupa → Adult
Ecological role
Green lacewing larvae are important natural enemies of aphids, whiteflies and other agricultural and forestry pests, and are widely used in biological pest control; adults visit flowers for pollen and honeydew and take part in some pollination.
Did you know
After draining an aphid dry, the lacewing larva often stacks the empty shells on its back as camouflage, blending in among the aphid debris to sneak up on its next target — hence the nickname “aphid lion.”
Range
Most of China
Status
Common; reared commercially for agricultural biological control
Anatomy
- Wings — Wing veins crisscross like a net; the transparent membrane shows a faint iridescence in sunlight
- Compound Eye — Gleams bronze-gold and is the most distinctive identifying feature
- Antenna — Thread-like and slender, usually held straight forward and motionless at rest
- Thorax — Slender, supporting the two pairs of narrow, membranous wings
- Abdomen — Soft and elongated, with the reproductive organs at its tip
- Legs — Long, slender and hairy; in the larval stage the legs are better suited to chasing down aphids
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