Green Lacewings for Aphid Control: Hatch Times, Storage, & More
Scientific Name
Target Pests
Psyllids, Mealybugs, and & various other soft-bodied insects.
About Green Lacewings
Green Lacewings, also known as “Aphid Lions” are essential general predators for defense against plant pests. Their primary value as biological control agents is with their larvae which can spend 2-4 weeks effectively hunting a wide range of soft-bodied insects.
Green Lacewing Lifecycle
Green Lacewing Eggs
Cost-effective control for limited infestation.Green lacewing eggs are laid on hair-like filaments to protect them from predators and to prevent hatchlings from eating each other. These eggs are an excellent choice for proactive gardeners who want to defend against common garden pests throughout the season. By introducing eggs into your garden as a preventative measure, you ensure that larvae will soon be present to control pests like aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and more. Taking early action with lacewing eggs helps keep your garden healthy and pest-free from the start.
Will Green Lacewing eggs change appearance once they hatch?
Green Lacewing Larvae
Immediate treatment of pest infestation.
If you’re facing an active infestation of garden pests, introducing green lacewing larvae can provide a fast and natural solution. Known as ‘Aphid Lions,’ these larvae are in their predatory stage for 2-4 weeks, during which they feed on a variety of soft-bodied pests. A single larva can consume up to 50 aphids a day! This life stage is perfect for gardeners who need a strong and immediate pest control method without using chemicals.
Green Lacewing Larvae Diet
Introducing a readily available, nutritious food source to your garden boosts beneficial insect populations. Our Lacewing Larvae Diet delivers essential proteins and nutrients, ensuring your larvae stay healthy and thrive, especially when other food sources are limited.
Green Lacewing Adults
Establish a population in a large area.
Green lacewing adults are perfect for gardeners looking to establish a long-term pest management strategy in large or hard to reach areas. Adults feed on pollen, nectar, and honeydew while also pollinating your garden. They seek out pest populations to lay their eggs, which hatch into larvae that continue the cycle of pest control.
Introduction Sites
Introduce indoors for houseplants or greenhouses, and outdoors for gardens, orchards, vineyards or anywhere that pests exist.
Introduction Rates
Light Infestation:
Introduce 1 insect per sq. ft., monthly.
Moderate Infestation:
Introduce 1 insect per sq. ft., bi-weekly, as needed.
Heavy Infestation:
Introduce 1 insect per sq. ft., weekly, as needed.
Depending on level of infestation, multiple applications may be required.
Pro Tips
- Protect eggs from ants by allowing them to hatch inside the package.
- Move cards every 12 hours to aid in distribution.
- Eggs turn gray when they are close to hatching.
Storage
If storage is necessary, store unhatched eggs at 39-46°F for no longer than 48 hours. Store out of direct sunlight. Do not freeze. For optimal results, introduce immediately after hatching. Larvae may exhibit cannibalistic behavior.
Green Lacewings For Spider Mite Control
Even though green lacewings are a general predator and will eat some spider mites, we recommend using predatory mites for better and faster control of spider mites.
Don't see 1,000 larvae in the Bottle?
Our lacewing larvae are incubated eggs that we time to hatch upon arrival. Purchasing the larvae guarantees that you will not have to wait the 7-14 days for eggs to hatch. Lacewing larvae are cannibalistic, so without other food sources available in transit, they will consume each other.
Comments
Jessey said:
Will ants eat the lace wing eggs should I hatch them indoors or just put them out?
Tim said:
My wife and I have an IKEA cabinet that we converted into a mini greenhouse and we have approximately 20 plants in it. What happens if/when we are finished with the lacewings and don’t want any more on our plants and in our greenhouse? Do the lacewings eventually die off or do eggs continuously hatch over and over forever?
Kristin said:
What do I do if there are too many lacewing adults during the adult stage in my IKEA Milsbo cabinet with about 25 plants? 1,000 eggs seems like way too many for only 25 plants but I can’t find less than 1,000 being sold anywhere! Do way less than 1,000 eggs hatch by any chance (I hope)?
Megan said:
I have lacewing eggs on my plants! The only thing is I don’t have a aphid problem. There was mealy bugs on one small plant 2 weeks ago but this was before I saw the eggs & I killed the mealybugs. Will my lacewings starve? What will they eat?
William said:
Will lace wing eggs survive if submerged in water? If so, for how long will they last?
Richard ott said:
I received lacewings that I ordered and put them in the little boxes they sent. Should I be giving them water? What do I do now?
DeeAnna Carreira said:
I ordered the small garden pk a few weeks ago. I released the ladybugs but since the day after release have not seen any at all! I also hung the green lacewig rice pouches away from direct sunlight & never see any ants in or around my raised gardens. I never saw anything emerge & I’ve been keeping an eye on them to see if I could see anything but with how small they are I have not! The only thing I’ve noticed that changed is it looks like the rice has split open & not sure if that’s a good thing? Also still waiting for my praying mantises to hatch! I have aphids, thrips, spider mites, fungus gnats, white flys, & cucumber Beetles & every other spring/summer bug eating & destroying everything in my garden & even my house plants. I’m literally at my wits end on what I can do! I really do not want to use chemicals or spray any chemicals that could be harmful to the ladybugs & green lacewigs. That I have already released if there is even anything left since Idek if the lacewigs even hatched since it’s to hard to tell! Please help I’m feeling very defeated with the bugs eating everything especially since I do have veggies & fruits that are finally starting to emerge & the last thing I want is to not be able to pick/eat what I have grown & worked so hard on!!
aqsa said:
I reviewed your blog it’s really good. Thanks a lot for the information about this blog.I want more informations.
Whiteflies
Sandra on May 15, 2022 said:
Hello! I have lacewings for the first time. Lost the directions…😖 So. Do we spread them along the ground OR put them in the pouches.
Thank you!
Erim said:
Can the green lacewing handle temperatures in the 90 to 110F range?
Aimee said:
Do nighttime temperatures need to be above 60° to disperse the eggs outdoors? How many cards come with 1000 eggs? Do you disperse the eggs in rice hulls onto the soil? If so do they need to stay dry? Do the eggs on cards need to stay dry?
Elizabeth Wood said:
Just received my lace wing larvae and I’m a bit disappointed in the amount that were alive /in the bottle. Unsure if i just got a fluke bottle but there were probably only 20 that didnt look dead.
Janice Willoughby said:
We received our order of lacewing eggs 3 days ago. We ordered them through Amazon. We kept the bag inside and watched for any movement. There were only a small amount of dark specks we could see on the edges of the bag. We looked with our magnifying glass and could see the dark eggs. There were a few green specks but no movement. We put them out in the bags in our rose bushes today but it looks like they are not hatching and there were no where’s near 1,000 eggs.
Janice Willoughby said:
I ordered lacewing eggs and received them yesterday. I see no movement yet, just the rice hulls and tiny black specks. Should I wait to see movement or go ahead and put the eggs out?
mai said:
I have ordered ladybugs 3 times this winter , and they did control the aphids. the last time one month ago, but I am not seeing any ladybugs anymore but now the aphids are coming back ?
Hannah said:
I just ordered both green lacewing and predatory mites… just after purchase, I realized that the lacewing might eat the predatory mites. I have aphids and spider mites on my houseplants right now. Do you have any guidance for me, please?
Daan said:
I’m pretty sure this is the case. But just wanted to double check. If I get both lacewings and A. cucumeris, the lacewings will munch on the cucumeris right? I have found both scale and thrips on my plants so this is the reason I wanted to order both. Is there maybe another predatory insect that eats both of these pests?