Common green lacewing

(Chrysoperla carnea group)

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Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Alfredo Colon

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Common green lacewing is a widespread, very common, medium-sized, net-winged insect. It occurs in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and North and South America. True to its common name, it is the most common green lacewing worldwide.

Adults are ½″ to ¾″ long and have a wingspan of ⅞″ to 1¼″. The body is long and slender, and has a delicate appearance. The thorax and abdomen are pale green and often have a thin, pale yellow stripe above. The antennae are long and thread-like. The eyes are gold or copper-colored.

The wings are transparent with a network of pale green veins. The forewing and hindwing are the same size and shape. The subcostal vein (Sc) is not fused with the anterior branch of the radial vein (R₁) at the wing tip. The costal cross-veins are not forked. The wings are held roof-like over the body when at rest.

Third stage (instar) larvae are alligator-like in appearance, ¼″ to 5 ⁄16″ long, and have long, sickle-shaped mandibles. They have well-developed legs which allow them to move quickly.

Size

Total length: ½″ to ¾″

Wingspan: ⅞″ to 1¼″

Similar Species

Habitat

Open areas: meadows, agricultural crops, and human houses

Ecology

Season

Two or three generations per year: spring to autumn

Behavior

Adults are nocturnal, active from sunset to sunrise. They are attracted to lights. They may emit an unpleasant odor when handled.

Life Cycle

Overwintering adults become active in the spring. The female lays eggs singly on foliage. She can lay two to five eggs per day and several hundred over her lifetime. The eggs are oval, pale green, and held at the end of long, slender stalks. They hatch in three to six days and the larvae pass through three instars in two to three weeks. They pupate in a silk, pea-shaped cocoon. Adults emerge in ten days to two weeks. There are at least two or three generations per year. In the fall, adults of the last generation become straw-colored. They group together in leaf litter usually at the edge of a field and enter a state of suspended development (diapause).

Larva Food/Hosts

Mostly aphids, but also many species of insects and arachnids, including adult aphids, spider mites, thrips, and whiteflies; eggs of leafhoppers, moths, and leafminers; and larvae of butterflies, moths, and beetles.

Adult Food

Flower nectar and pollen, and aphid honeydew

Distribution
		Sources 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83. Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 10/4/2025).
10/4/2025

Occurrence
Very common