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Net-winged Insects (Neuroptera order, infraclass Neoptera, subclass Pterygota, class Insecta, subphylum Hexapoda, phylum Arthropoda, kingdom Animalia, domain Eukarya)
Lacewings (Hemerobiiformia suborder)
These are photos of Green and Brown Lacewings. Apparently some Green Lacewing species larvae are what Eisner (2003) calls "trash carriers," using plucked plant leaf trichomes to hide themselves from predators (usually True Bugs). On the other hand, some Brown Lacewing (Hemerobiidae family) species larvae earn the name "trash bugs" by carrying miscellaneous debris on their backs, according to the University of Florida/State of Florida and the University of Kentucky's Critter Files Brown Lacewing section. This sounds a familiar note for this website in general: the discovery of greater behavioral variation within families than across them.
Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae family)
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| Green Lacewing (genus Chrysoperla, family Chrysopidae), Durham, 7/27/05, 8/2/05, 12/29/05 and 5/25/06, respectively. The carnivorous larvae are used to control pests, as described at Cornell University's website on useful insect predators. Adult wing pattern and shape, not color, distinguishes it from the Brown Lacewing (see below). | ||||
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| Green Lacewing larva, Durham, 7/12/05. According to Eisner (2003, p. 305), Chrysopidae larvae build the protective white mass they carry around out of trichomes, hairlike projections on the surface of leaves; the larva above may be using its pincers for just that purpose. This makes it difficult to Assassin Bugs and their kin to attack them with their beaks. | Green Lacewing larva (see legs on top of white mass). See also part of abdomen. | Green Lacewing Larva, Boone, Watauga County, NC 8/7/06. This tiny insect was barely visible to the naked eye, and perhaps too early in its development to develop the protective covering of the larva on the left. |
Brown Lacewings (Hemerobiidae family)
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| Brown Lacewing, Durham, NC, 5/1/07 |
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| Brown Lacewing (Hemerobiidae family), Durham, 4/14/06. Pictures of same insect taken at night. ID thanks to Eric Eaton and Dr. Doug Yanega of the University of California at Riverside. | |
Antlions (Myrmeleontidae family, Myrmeleontoidea superfamily, Myrmeleontiformia suborder)
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| Antlion (Vella americanum), between 2 and 3 inches long. Great camouflage! I saw the antlion flying to the tree, its wings sparkling in the sun. |
© 2006-2008 Dorothy E. Pugh
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