Green lacewings
Chrysopidae
Other
Family-level entry for the delicate green-winged insects whose larvae — the "aphid lions" — are voracious generalist predators of aphids, mites, thrips, whiteflies, scales, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied pests, making them one of the most important native biological-control insects in the vegetable and perennial garden. The adults are crepuscular or nocturnal and feed largely on nectar, pollen, and aphid honeydew, so they depend on flowering insectary plants for the carbohydrate and protein that fuel egg-laying; a few genera (notably Chrysopa) keep predatory adults. Because the larvae hunt the same aphids the adults rely on for honeydew, a planting that offers both umbel and composite flowers and a tolerated aphid population sustains a resident, reproducing population rather than a one-time visit.
Plants in the catalog
Nectar plants · 11
Adult lacewings nectar at the accessible corymbs; their larvae are voracious aphid predators.
Foliage plants · 1
Green lacewing larvae are generalist predators that hunt aphids and other soft-bodied insects, including the aphids and adelgids that feed on fir foliage; they forage over and shelter in conifer canopies. Graded plausible — the tie is to the prey on the tree rather than to the fir itself, and a wind-pollinated conifer offers no nectar reward.
Range
Cosmopolitan family; the common genera Chrysoperla and Chrysopa are widespread across North America, with roughly 85 species on the continent.