Latin: Chrysopa carnea
The common green lacewing also goes by the Latin name Chrysopa carnea and is a small, winged insect that belongs to the Chrysopidae family.
Appearance
The little common green lacewing has a recognizable appearance. With its large transparent wings and clear light green color, it is easy to recognize. But the special characteristic is its eyes. They shine like gold if viewed in the right light.
In addition, the common green lacewing is equipped with wings that have a fine network of ribs, just as it has long thread-shaped sensory horns on its head. The wingspan can be between 26-29 millimeters. The larva of the common green lacewing is about an inch in the adult state. The larva has a rather deadly, forward-facing forceps, with which it can grab its prey and suck out nutrition.
Biology and behavior
The common green lacewing prefers to be active at night, while in the summer months they usually sit in hiding most of the day. The night is their playground. Here they emerge, fluttering quietly around and flying between the flowers to suck nectar. Although they prefer the dark, they are attracted to the light. Therefore, a lit lamp and an open window can result in the golden eye getting lost in the home.
It is often during the winter months that one encounters golden eyes indoors. They want to be cool during their overwintering, and already in the autumn months they are looking for the perfect place to overwinter, which is why they like to visit ceilings and similar places in buildings. Here they can sit in peace and completely immobile throughout the winter before the heat of spring calls them out again.
Heating the room where they have chosen to overwinter, during the winter, will cause them to wake up. Such an abrupt awakening will usually be the same as to death for them, as they cannot cope with the long starvation period that the increased metabolism entails.
When the common green lacewing leaves their resting places, they will immediately go in search of plants where they can lay their eggs. The eggs are placed in clusters on the leaves of the plants. The eggs of the common green lacewing are about a millimeter long, and they sit on the end of a thin stalk of about ½ centimeters.
Aphids are the common green lacewing larvae’s favorite food, and the small larvae are even called aphid lions due to their large appetite for these. If the garden has been invaded by aphids for a year, one would therefore expect to find many overwintering common green lacewing the following winter period.
Damage
It is the common green lacewing’s appetite for insects and pests such as aphids that makes the common green lacewing a useful animal in the garden. They therefore pose no harm.
Prevention and pest control
The common green lacewing does no harm. In fact, they are useful helpers in the garden and nature. They must therefore not be fought. Instead, you should help them where you can. If the common green lacewing is awakened during its overwintering, you can help it by placing it in an unheated room as soon as possible, while in the spring you can help it out in the open.
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)