Green Lacewing Adults - Description

Chrysoperla rufilabris · How to Say It: kriss-oh-PER-luh roo-fih-LAB-ris

They find pest colonies and lay eggs beside them, starting new generations of aphid-hunting larvae.

Covering a big garden, greenhouse, or orchard with lacewing eggs or larvae by hand takes time. Adult green lacewings can do the work for you. Once released, green lacewing adults fly through your growing space looking for aphid colonies and other soft-bodied pests. They lay their eggs right next to them, so each hatch starts where the food is.

Adults don't eat pests themselves. They live on nectar, pollen, and honeydew. Their job is to lay eggs. Each female can lay 400 or more eggs, so a single release can mean waves of predatory larvae. Choose adults when you want broad, ongoing coverage across a large area rather than an immediate knockdown in a smaller space.

What Green Lacewing Adults Are

Chrysoperla rufilabris is a beneficial insect native to North America. The adult is the stage most people recognize: a slim, bright green insect about ½–¾ inch long, with see-through, net-veined wings and coppery-gold eyes. You've likely seen them fluttering near porch lights on summer evenings. They're gentle and aren't harmful to people, pets, or plants. The hunting happens in the next generation, when the eggs hatch into the striped, alligator-shaped larvae known as "aphid lions."

How Adults Deliver Pest Control

Adults move freely across a large area and use the scent of aphid honeydew to find pest colonies. There they lay eggs on thin silk stalks, which keeps the eggs off the leaf surface and away from newly hatched siblings. When the larvae emerge, they're already surrounded by prey. As long as the adults are active, new eggs can appear near the places pests are building up.

When to Use Adult Green Lacewings

  • Large areas: greenhouses, orchards, field crops, and big gardens where hand-placing eggs or larvae isn't practical
  • Scattered pest pressure: colonies spread across many plants, including spots you might miss
  • Long-term programs: building a lacewing population that keeps producing new predators over several weeks
  • Pairing with a quick fix: release larvae for immediate knockdown on hot spots, then add adults to keep new generations coming

For a single plant, a small bed, or pests that are already causing heavy damage, Green Lacewing Larvae, Green Lacewing Eggs on Hanging Cards or Green Lacewing Eggs in Rice Hulls will get to work faster.

Where Adults Fit in the Life Cycle

Egg → larva → pupa → adult.

Adults are the final, reproductive stage. They live roughly 4–6 weeks, feeding on nectar, pollen, and honeydew while laying eggs near pest colonies. Those eggs hatch into larvae, which hunt for 2–3 weeks before pupating and emerging as the next generation of adults.

Temperature Range

Green lacewing adults adapt to a wide range of conditions, but temperature controls how actively they move, feed, and lay eggs.

  • Below 60°F: Movement, feeding, and egg-laying slows significantly. In cool weather, adults become inactive and may enter an overwintering state, sometimes shifting color in regions with mild winters.
  • 68–90°F: Peak activity range, with adults performing best at 68–82°F. Conditions with high humidity are ideal for egg-laying and fast life cycle development.
  • Above 95°F: Adults can handle short bursts of summer heat, but sustained temperatures above 95°F affect development and cause egg-laying to drop sharply.

Once hatched, the larvae work best at about 67–89°F with humidity of 30% or more.

Help Adults Stay and Lay

Adults need nectar, pollen, or honeydew to stay healthy and keep laying eggs. Flowering plants nearby help. So does a supplemental food like our Good Bug Diet, especially early in the season or in greenhouses with few blooms.

Pairing & Compatibility

Lacewings cover a lot of ground above the soil, but no single predator handles every pest in every zone. Pairing them with specialists and soil-dwellers closes the gaps.

Foliar Partners

Soil-Dwelling Partners

Covering the pests where green lacewings don't reach.

Safe, Sustainable Pest Management

  • Natural biological control with no synthetic pesticides
  • Safe around people and pets when used as directed
  • Safe for edible plants when used as directed
  • IPM-compatible
  • No protective equipment required