Flying Insects - Blog Posts

This was one of the tiniest dragonflies I have ever seen, and they were all over in the Masai Mara.

The closest species I have found is the Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), but that doesn't seem quite right. The dragonflies I saw were darker and more metallic in tone, with gold-ish patches at the base of their wings. But I was still glad to learn about Wandering Gliders, because they are found all over the world and seem to migrate incredible distances, even crossing the Himalayas. Isn't that amazing? You can read about them here.

The Common Green Lacewing: these tiny insects pupate within loosely-woven cocoons that measure just 3-6mm (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch) in diameter

The lacewing will spend about 5 days maturing within its cacoon, before it cuts an opening in the top and emerges as a fully-developed adult.

The larvae of the green lacewing (family Chrysopidae) are also known as "aphid lions," due to their skill/appetite when it comes to hunting aphids. They're widely used in agricultural contexts to help eradicate pests, because they are voracious predators that also commonly prey upon caterpillars, leafhoppers, planthoppers, thrips, spiders, mites, and insect eggs.

As it nears the end of its larval stage, a lacewing will spin a small cacoon out of silk and then tuck itself inside, allowing the pupal phase to begin; its tiny green body is often partially visible through the thin, loosely-woven walls of the cacoon.

These breathtaking photos of a lacewing climbing out of its cacoon were taken by a Danish photographer named Frederik Leck Fischer.

When a lacewing first emerges from a cacoon, its wings are still compactly folded down against its body; the wings then gradually begin to expand until they have reached their full size, which usually takes about an hour or two.

Fischer's photographs provide an excellent account of this entire process.

Here are just a few other images of the common green lacewing:

Sources & More Info

University of California's Integrated Pest Management Program: The Green Lacewing

Texas A&M's Field Guide to the Insects of Texas: Green Lacewings

Washington State University: Lacewings

Tennessee State University: Fact Sheet on the Green Lacewing (PDF download)

Pacific Pests & Pathogens: Green Lacewings/Biocontrol

©Robin Fifield 2023.