ABSTRACT
Lacewings are small to large, mainly predatory insects, with two pairs of transparent wings and long, thread-like or bead-like antennae. Pupae of lacewings are exarate, with the antennae, mandibles, legs and other appendages ‘free’; in addition, the mandibles of pupae are moveable, and are used to bite through the pupal cocoon prior to the emergence of the adults. Green lacewings, with their often bright green bodies and golden compound eyes, are familiar insects, distinguished morphologically from other lacewings by their overall appearance and distinctive wing venation. Eggs of green lacewings, which hatch within a week or two, are laid on leaves and other such surfaces, usually singly or in small groups, but sometimes in batches of up to 40 or more. Brown lacewings are mainly brown or greyish, black-marked insects, with numerous small hairs on the wing membrane. The eggs of brown lacewings are oval, and possess an often very prominent disc-shaped or knob-like micropyle.
