Lacewings: profile & use of the larvae

Lacewings and lacewing larvae can be used to naturally combat pests such as aphids and the like. We introduce the beneficial insect and give tips on how to use lacewings.

The common lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) is the most important species of lacewings (Chrysopidae) as a beneficial insect against aphids, thrips and spider mites. The adult lacewings have earned the name "golden eyes" because of their shimmering compound eyes. They are greenish in color and have web-like pairs of wings. The voracious larvae are also nicknamed "aphid lions" because they can eat up to 50 aphids a day or up to 800 aphids during their lifetime.

Lacewing: Wanted Poster

Lacewings can be found especially at dusk or at night. They feed mainly on pollen and nectar, but honeydew (i.e. aphid excrement) is also on their menu. A female can lay 100 to 900 eggs. A special feature when laying eggs are the long egg stalks on which the lacewing lays its oval eggs. This also always happens in groups near aphid colonies.

When the larvae hatch, they first molt and then migrate downwards in search of a suitable food source. For example, when they find an aphid, they grab it with their pincer-like mouthparts and suck it out.

Depending on the weather, the development of the larvae into adults takes 8 to 22 days. Temperatures of 20 to 26 °C are ideal for development. In contrast to many other beneficial insects, lacewings are active from as little as 12 °C. On the menu are aphids (Aphidoidea), thrips (Thysanoptera), spider mites (Tetranychidae), mealybugs (Pseudococcidae) or whiteflies (Aleurodes proletella or Trialeurodes vaporariorum). If the food supply is not large enough, it can also happen that the larvae dare to approach larger prey such as ladybird larvae or even conspecifics.

Lacewing larvae as biological crop protection

With these special larvae you can get rid of pests on your beloved garden or house plants Tackle without worrying about the effects of chemical insecticides. In the greenhouse or living room, the animals cannot migrate so quickly and are particularly effective here. However, it is not possible to keep lacewings for a long time. Therefore, after about two weeks, a new use of beneficial insects is necessary if the infestation has not been combated by then. In the open air, the animals have the opportunity to migrate, which somewhat reduces the short-term effect, but the lacewings can also settle in your garden in the long term.

Even if lacewing larvae are primarily after aphids, they can be used sensibly against many pests, for example:

• aphids
• Mealybugs
• mealybugs
• thrips
• spider mites
• white flies

Lacewings can be used indoors all year round. Outdoors it has to be a minimum of 15°C (although nighttime temperatures can be as high as 8°C) to be successful. All you have to do is release the lacewings - the larvae then do the rest of the work all by themselves.

You can order the eggs or larvae in various pack sizes online in online shops, for example at nuetzlinge.de. You can buy lacewing eggs as litter, but there is also the option of getting the larvae on cardboard strips and simply laying them out near the infested plants.

Lacewings are delivered at an early stage of development, so don't be surprised if you when you pull the paper strip off the box or in the grit you can see little or no movement - that's all normal.

The variant with the cardboard strips is particularly suitable for a light or medium infestation with pests and is very easy to handle. Eggs on long stalks are simply placed in the shade near the infestation, glued to the carton. The larvae, on the other hand, are in cardboard honeycombs covered with a strip of paper. A larva sits in each honeycomb so that the voracious predators do not eat each other. After delivery, you should immediately expose the larvae to the infested plants, preferably in the evening or in the morning - the nocturnal animals do not like direct sunlight.

How to use the cardboard strips:

• First pull off the paper strip directly at the plants.
• Hold the strip over the plants and gently tap the larvae to drop them out.
• Leave the strip by the plants in the garden for a few days. It is possible that a few lacewing larvae are still sitting in the honeycomb and are still migrating into the stock.

How to use the litter:

• Open the bag by the plants and first carefully mix the husks with the lacewing larvae.
• Then scatter the entire content as evenly as possible.
• Leave the bag in the stock for a few days so that the last larvae can still crawl out.

Notice: Especially in the case of a stronger infestation or unfavorable conditions for the beneficial insects, the targeted use of beneficial insects is often not sufficient. In these cases, we recommend using a biological pesticide.
A biological alternative to pest control with beneficial insects are preparations based on neem oil. The seeds of the neem tree contain a valuable oil with the active ingredient azadirachtin. This natural active ingredient is excellent for controlling pests such as aphids, whiteflies, spider mites or cicadas. Our Plantura Organic Pest Free Neem is based on this effective neem oil and enables you to use biological pest control. You can use the purely herbal remedy both indoors and outdoors. Although our organic pest-free neem can be used against a variety of biting and stinging plant pests, it is not dangerous to bees. The active ingredient from the neem oil is absorbed by the insects and causes a quick stop to eating and sucking. Since the insect larvae no longer develop properly, the pests die off completely. Our Organic Pest Free Neem can simply be mixed with water to form an emulsion and sprayed onto the affected plant. Please use organic pest-free neem exactly as specified in the application recommendation and read the package insert before use.
In general, you should refrain from using any pesticides if you have decided to use lacewings, as they can harm the beneficial insects.

Is lacewing bite dangerous?

Lacewing larvae may look a bit scary in close-up pictures, but they are completely harmless to us humans. The bite of the lacewing larva is therefore not dangerous. The adult animals and their larvae do not see us humans as prey and can therefore be safely observed.

Lacewings in the apartment

Since our beneficial insects want to get through the winter safely, you may find lacewings in your own four walls. Of the approximately 35 different lacewing species in Central Europe, the common lacewing overwinters as adult animal in frost-free areas outdoors or looks for a suitable hiding place in the Inner space. Many other lacewing species overwinter in a cocoon as a prepupa.

Since the lacewings are very useful to us, we shouldn't fight them. They may be lured out of their winter hiding places by light and fly around a bit, but lacewings will soon find a cozy hiding place again. They especially like to hide behind pictures or in the attic. They generally prefer cooler rooms such as attics and garages for wintering.

Let the lacewings spend the winter with you, because the little animals do not cause any damage and will help you with unloved pests in the house garden in spring. Open the windows in spring to make it easier for lacewings to come out of their winter hiding places. Then all you have to do is enjoy your beneficial insects in the garden.

Encourage lacewings in the garden

You can even settle the lacewings in a targeted manner with a lacewing box in the garden. You can buy it or just build it yourself. Most brood houses are made entirely of wood and are filled with straw or wood shavings for the lacewings to snuggle up in. So that nothing spills out, you attach a coarse wire or some wooden strips. Since the color red seems to be very attractive to our lacewings, it is advisable to paint the boxes in this color and place them in the garden among the plants. With a blooming flower meadow in your garden, you can also encourage beneficial insects such as lacewings. Our Plantura beneficial insect magnet is a seed mix that makes it easy for you to attract beneficial insects.

Exciting tips too beneficial insects in the garden we have put together for you in our special article. You can find more biological pesticides against a variety of different pests in our shop Plant protection & insect repellent.