Aphids on the new growth, and you want the cheapest way to get predators onto the plant. Green lacewing eggs are the stage before the predator, priced accordingly: they hatch on the foliage over a few days and the larvae — the "aphid lions" — hunt from there, working leaf by leaf through a colony.
It is about as low-effort as biological control gets. Nothing to mix, nothing to spray, no residue on the leaves and no re-entry interval — you scatter the eggs and carrier together across the plant and the soil around it, and leave them. The larvae search the undersides and the growing tips without your help, and aphids cannot develop resistance to being eaten. Safe around people, pets and anything you plan to eat.
Be realistic about scale, and spread them thin. The published egg-release trials are mixed — a significant reduction on dwarf apple trees at about 335,000 eggs per hectare, no detectable effect on landscape stonecrop or hawthorn — so on a big established specimen expect help rather than a clearance. And wide beats concentrated: neonates hatch hungry among their own siblings and will eat each other at density.
You will probably never see an adult lacewing, and that is how it is supposed to go. Judge this on what happens to the aphids while the larvae are working.
Best for: Low aphid pressure, prevention, and getting ahead of a colony before it establishes.
How many: Sizes go by plant count up to X-Large, then by square footage. Spread them thin and wide.
Arrives as: Loose, unhatched eggs through a dry carrier. Nothing will be moving. There is no adhesive, so where you place them matters.
Speed: Hatch is variable — days rather than hours, and slower than the incubated Larvae. Best at 70–85°F; both hatch and development slow below 65°F.
Safe around: People, pets, plants and food crops.
Not for: An active outbreak you need cleared now — the incubated Larvae are that. And not a dependable treatment for thrips, spider mites, mealybug or whitefly; the larvae take those on encounter, which is not control.
Field Notes
Green Lacewing Eggs
The beneficial
Species
Chrysoperla sp., either rufilabris or carnea, depending on the batch
Larva size
About 1mm on hatching, translucent — effectively invisible. They grow to 8mm by the final instar
What does the killing
The larva, and only the larva. Adults are not predatory — they feed on pollen, nectar and honeydew
Feeding window
2–3 weeks of larval life, then pupation
What it eats
Hunts
Aphids above all. Larvae actively search foliage for them. Published results are mixed: significant reduction on dwarf apple trees at a very high egg rate, none on landscape stonecrop or hawthorn
Eats opportunistically
Thrips larvae, spider mites, mealybugs, whitefly nymphs, scale crawlers, small caterpillars, insect eggs, psyllids. Taken on encounter, and not a reason to buy them — opportunistic feeding is not control. Whitefly especially: the larvae cannot complete development on whitefly alone
Won't touch
Adult scale, armored scale, anything in the soil, adult whitefly
What arrives
Format
Non-incubated eggs, loose with a rice hull or similar carrier
Role
Treatment, delayed. Eggs hatch after arrival, then the larvae feed
Ships as
Small pale eggs. Not yet hatched — nothing will be moving
Eggs or larvae?
Eggs are the cheaper stage. The one direct comparison was on leafhoppers rather than aphids, and there about 70% of released eggs were lost, mostly to cannibalism. Eggs for low pressure and getting ahead of it; the incubated Larvae product for an active outbreak
Hatch window
Variable. Days rather than hours, and slower than the incubated Lacewing Larvae product. Cold transit extends it
Where it works
Optimal temp
70–85°F. Hatch and development both slow below 65°F
Humidity
Moderate. No high-RH requirement
Establishes
No. Adults emerge and disperse — this is a release, not a population
Running it
Deploy
On arrival. Distribute eggs across foliage, or leave the container open in the canopy and let larvae exit as they hatch
Release timing
Evening. Spread thin and wide — larvae are cannibalistic and will eat each other at high density
Reapply
Every 7–14 days while pests are active
Compatible with
Predatory mites, Stratiolaelaps scimitus, beneficial nematodes, Aphidius, Cryptolaemus, Diglyphus, springtails
Keep separate from
Broad-spectrum insecticides. Ants — they defend aphid colonies and will attack larvae. Sticky cards will catch adults
Chemical interval
One day after neem oil or insecticidal soap. Never with sulfur, at any dilution
Safe around
Pets, children, plants
