Ordinary lace-eyed: features of development and nutrition

Of the two thousand representatives of the whole Chrysopidae family, the most famous is the golden lizard-a small insect predator whose wingspan can reach 3 cm. Its larvae, devouring pests, are of great use in agriculture. For this purpose, many gardeners specially settle the golden-eyed on their sites.

Appearance

This insect has large facetted eyes of gold color, for which it received such an interesting name. The body is green. On its upper part is clearly visible a light green strip.

Ordinary lace-eyed Chrysopa perla - owner of exquisite pale green wings. They are completely transparent, and through them a lot of thin veins are clearly visible. An adult has a slender abdomen, three pairs of legs and long, movable tendrils.

The larva is of the same light coffee color, it possesses sharp curved jaws that give out a real predator in it. On the wingless vermiform body, covered with warts and hairs, you can see small eyes. Its length is about 7 mm.

Ordinary lace-eyed has a very good reaction to ultrasound. Hearing him, she instantly folds the wings and falls to the ground, thus escaping from bats.

Habitat

This insect is distributed in a variety of regions - virtually throughout Europe, with the exception of the northern part, in North Africa, South-West Asia. The main places where it can be found are mixed forests, parks and gardens.

Ordinary lace-eyed, saving stocks of nutrients, hibernates in some crack or hollow tree. And also it can be found at this time of year in the room, somewhere behind a cabinet or a picture.

In the spring, insects fly to hazel, willow and blooming gardens.

Development

For a rather short life, which is approximately 2 months, the lacewoman does two masonry, usually near the places where aphids live. In each of them can be from 100 to 900 eggs. They first have a green color, but gradually darken.

Eggs are attached to a narrow leg up to 3 mm long and then become like some rudiments of fungi. To make such a stalk, Goldeneye presses the end of the abdomen to the leaf and distributes a thick, rapidly solidifying drop of liquid, which then stretches, while lifting the abdomen.

The next stage is the larva. It develops within 2-3 weeks. Hatching, immediately molts and begins to feed. A day can eat almost a hundred aphids.

Further, using his silk, the larva spins an oval cocoon and passes into the next stage - the pre-pupae. It almost does not differ in anything, but it already has the inclinations of two pairs of wings.

During the next molt (3-4 days later) turns into a pupa, which after about a week cuts out a door from the cell and climbs out. Then it is attached to the cocoon and in five minutes a beautiful creature appears on the light, which soon becomes a windmill.

In warm regions, the common golden-eyed lizard develops rapidly, which is why four generations are replaced in one year, and in the subtropical zone it reaches eight. But in the north there is only one offspring.

Food

Larvae of this species, in addition to aphids, also feed on chervets, various plant and spider mites, caterpillars, eggs of insects, including the Colorado potato beetle. But still the most favorite delicacy for them is the pea aphid. Apparently, because the latter contains a lot of protein in its diet.

And to disguise themselves and protect themselves from the sun, the larva takes the sucked skin of the victim to her back, adding grains of sand, pieces of moss, bark, and constructing a sheath.

An adult common lacewoman collects pollen from flowers, leaves and stems. This interesting fact was proved by the scientist EK Grinfeld, putting several butterflies in the jar and then pouring in the pollen. The insects knocked on the glass and lost the scales of their wings. When Greenfeld released them, he put a small bouquet, and then let in and the golden-eyed. Later, in their intestines, he found the remains of scales together with pollen.

That is why flannesses have a beneficial effect on plants, doing cross-pollination. They also collect dew, drink juice from fruits of apples, pears and grapes.

However, not all individuals of this species are civilians. Many of them retain their larval predilections and go hunting. They kill much more aphids and different pests than the larvae themselves, because they live much longer than them.

Benefits for man

The larva is used to control pests, and the effectiveness depends on the number of populations of the latter. The best result is achieved with a low (medium) density of insects.

The ordinary golden-eyed lion whose photo is in this article settles up to 3-4 times a month in such a way that from 10 to 15 insects per one square meter. With the increase in the number of pests, the density of the resettlement of the lacewoman increases, because when food is scarce, gluttonous larvae can attack useful insects or their own relatives.