 ello fellow Earthlings, and welcome to
the garden battlefield a place where do-gooders like the green lacewing
(Chrysoperla carnea) are doing battle with the forces of gardening
evil (pest insects) on your behalf. If any predatory insect deserved the
pest control Medal of Diligence, it is the Green Lacewing. Today we will
be discussing this voracious gardener's assistant and learn how to ensure
that green lacewings are working in your garden. So let's take a walk down
to the battlefield ... I mean garden.
 The green lacewing is the star of
this Goddess' pest control program. Green lacewings are classified as beneficial
generalists. This means that these hungry little bugs eat more than one
kind of pest insect, and as we will see, they eat a lot of them. The adult
green lacewing is a delicate, graceful insect that produces a larvae that
is straight out of science fiction, called the "Aphid Lion".
The larval green lacewing or Aphid
Lion is a brownish, alligator-looking critter about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long.
It is very active and mobile on plants and will vigorously search out prey.
Although they are particularly fond of the taste of aphids, lacewing larvae
are not specifically aphid eaters. In fact, at mealtime, they are decidedly
nonspecific. They enjoy the taste of many pest insects, including mealybugs,
spider mites, leafhopper nymphs, caterpillar eggs, soft scales, thrips and
some types of whitefly. A single lacewing larvae can consume as many as
1,200 of these pests before pupation and adulthood. Now that's what I call
hungry.
Not only are lacewing larvae voracious
eaters, they are really creatures after Anne Rice's heart (she's on the
Goddess Net). The lacewing larvae actually seize their prey in pincerlike
jaws and, once they have subdued their victim, they suck out their juices.
Brutality is not an issue in the garden when it comes to biological pest
controls. If lacewing populations get too high and competition for food
becomes too great, they will eat each other. Built in population control,
very cool.
The life cycle of the green lacewing
is an interesting few weeks. A green lacewing adult is between 1/2 and 3/4
inches long and has a bright green slender body with transparent pale green
wings. They have bright metallic gold eyes and are known in eastern gardens
as "golden eyes" (No James Bond comments, please).
Lacewings also have a characteristic
"fluttering" flight that is very graceful and allows them to be
easily identified. Adults are not predaceous themselves, instead feeding
on pollen and nectar from small flowering plants rich in these foods. They
also feed on insect honeydew (the civilized name for sucking insect poop)
which stimulates the egg laying mechanism due to recognition of prey in
the area.
The adult lays tiny green eggs on
thin stalks that resemble cattails. The eggs are attached to the underside
of leaves, on the bark of trees, or sometimes right in the middle of a bunch
of prey insects that are feeding on the plant. In 3 to 12 days, depending
primarily on outside temperatures, the eggs hatch and aphid lions are loosed
to pillage the countryside.
The larvae immediately begin to actively
search for prey. The brown aphid lions then proceed to eat and eat for approximately
three weeks before pupating and becoming adults.
Once the larvae is mature, it will
spin a small cocoon of a thread that resembles silk. In 5 to 7 days an adult
Lacewing emerges from the cocoon to start the cycle all over again.
The life cycle of the Green Lacewing
is greatly influence by temperature and climate. In cold weather they have
difficulty, and the length of time for a generation to lay eggs will be
much longer than it would be in warmer climates. In summer and spring conditions
a generation may only take 30 days to complete a cycle. That is why right
now is one of the best times to begin releasing green lacewings into your
garden.
To keep adult lacewings in your
garden, it is helpful to plant lots of nectar-rich flowers. Lacewings love
sweet alyssum, dill, and most members of the mint family. Most of these
plants are also useful to you, so planting them shouldn't be a problem.
Once green lacewings have colonized your garden, you will have fewer pest
problems that you have ever experienced. All it takes is a little patience.
When pest insects show up in the
garden, avoid the temptation to break out some toxic substance just wait
a few days. Lacewings will find the bad guys and the screams will be heard
miles away.
Releasing green lacewings into your
garden is simple and very cost effective. Many companies "direct ship"
to your home, insuring that you get the freshest killers available. Talk
to the gardening professionals at Grangetto's Farm and Garden Supply in
Encinitas, Escondido, Fallbrook and Valley Center for information on availability.
Avoid live bugs in a store you don't know how long that they have been in
the store and they could be stressed. This is also a great way to get your
children involved in environmentally responsible insect control. They'll
be fascinated.
Next time we will find out about
Trichogramma parasitoid wasps and a very effective bacteria for caterpillar
and worm controls in the garden. Come up and see me sometime!  | 
mill.net. The Garden Goddess is a trademark of The Organic Gardener's Resource and Design Centre of Encinitas, 293 Neptune Ave. Encinitas, CA. 92024. D.W. Trotter is a consulting horticulturist and an award winning garden designer.