Eating o' the Green

Bug Squad

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Happenings in the insect world

Eating o' the Green

Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey

Published on: March 17, 2015

It was not the greatest of St. Patrick's Day surprises.

A green lacewing nailed by a garden spider? And on the porch light fixture?

So true.

Green lacewings, beneficial insects that they are (the larvae eat aphids, mites, thrips, whiteflies, leafhopper and other soft-bodied insects) have this tendency to fly toward the light. That proved to be a fatal mistake for this one (below). Apparently it did not notice a cunning spider, a Western spotted orb weaver, Neoscona oaxacensis (as identified by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, lying in wait.

The wearing o' the green became the eating o' the green. The predator and the prey...

If you look closely, this green lacewing that fluttered onto a porch light fixture, is not alone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Deep in the shadows, a garden spider feasts on a green lacewing. The spider is a Western spotted orb weaver, Neoscona oaxacensis, as identified by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tags: garden spider (8), green lacewing (2)

Comments: 4

Comments:

by DeeDee Gollwitzer

on March 18, 2015 at 7:34 AM

I have heard that the Green Lacewings are born in or under the bark of a California Sycamore Tree.

Is this true?

by John Tikotsky

on March 18, 2015 at 9:54 AM

In the photo of spider making a meal of the green lacewing, was curious to know if someone could ID species of the spider. Thx JT

by Carmen Kappos

on March 18, 2015 at 4:31 PM

What would be some good plants to put in the garden to attract lacewings? Do they favor laying eggs on something in particular?

thanks!

by Kathy Keatley Garvey

on March 19, 2015 at 5:45 PM

John, the spider, as identified by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology is a Western spotted orb weaver, Neoscona oaxacensis.

DeeDee and Carmen, UC Davis entomologist Jay Rosenheim says:
"Lacewings lay their eggs all over the place (delicate little oval eggs, held on the ends of long stalks, often), especially relatively close to prey (aphids, or others). If the sycamores are hosting lots of aphids, that could explain the presence of eggs. But the eggs are all over."

"I think there are some spray-on foods (including yeast hydrolysate) that are supposed to attract adult lacewings, but whether they are really available commercially here in the states? I just don’t know."