Aphids already there, and you want them gone now. Green lacewing larvae ship as incubated eggs timed to hatch about 24 hours after they arrive, so you get larvae right at the point they emerge hungry and start hunting. The nickname "aphid lion" is earned — they work leaf by leaf through an active colony, and each one takes 200 or more pests and pest eggs a week.
And there is nothing to it. Nothing to mix, nothing to spray, no residue and no re-entry interval — you tip the whole container, eggs and carrier together, across the plant and the soil around it, and leave it. They search the undersides and the growing tips where a spray never lands, and aphids cannot develop resistance to being eaten. Safe around people, pets and anything you plan to eat.
Two things worth knowing. Dense canopies suit them best — Alocasia, Philodendron — where the larvae can shelter and hunt, and on a big established specimen expect help rather than a clearance. And deploy the day they arrive: left in the bottle they will eat one another, and we cannot replace them in that case.
You may never see an adult lacewing, and that is how it is supposed to go. The larva hunts for two to three weeks, then pupates into something that feeds on pollen, nectar and honeydew and takes no pests at all. Judge this on the aphids thinning out over the following days.
Best for: Active aphid outbreaks and hot-spot cleanup on small to mid-sized plants.
How many: Sizes go by plant count up to 2X-Large, then by square footage. For an active infestation on a 6" plant, about 10 larvae.
Arrives as: Incubated eggs in a carrier, timed to hatch roughly 24 hours after delivery. The eggs are minute and the larvae barely larger — about the size of a comma, translucent and pale.
Speed: Hunting within a day. 59–90°F; cold slows the hatch, heat brings it forward. Release in the evening or with the lights dimmed so they do not crawl away toward the light.
Safe around: People, pets, plants and food crops.
Not for: Thrips, spider mites, mealybug crawlers or whitefly — the larvae take those on encounter, and opportunistic feeding is not control.
Field Notes
Chrysoperla sp.
The beneficial
Species
Chrysoperla sp., either rufilabris or carnea, depending on the batch
Common name
Green lacewing larvae — "aphid lions"
How it works
Ships as incubated eggs timed to hatch about 24 hours after delivery. The larvae emerge hungry and work leaf by leaf through the colony for two to three weeks, then spin a cocoon and pupate
What does the killing
The larva, and only the larva. The adult that follows feeds on pollen, nectar and honeydew and takes no pests at all
What it eats
Hunts
Aphids above all — every species, green peach, melon, potato and the rest. This is what you are buying
Best against
An active aphid outbreak, or a hot spot on a small to mid-sized plant. On a big established specimen, expect help rather than a clearance
Eats opportunistically
Thrips larvae in the canopy, mealybug crawlers and younger nymphs, two-spotted spider mites, whitefly eggs and sessile nymphs. Taken on encounter, and not a reason to buy them — opportunistic feeding is not control
Won't touch
Adult scale, armoured scale, adult whitefly, anything in the soil
What arrives
Format
Incubated eggs through a dry carrier material. The loose medium looks like packing debris. It is not — it is what keeps the eggs spread out and cushioned, and it goes out onto the plant with them
Ships as
Incubated eggs, timed to hatch about 24 hours after delivery
Size
The eggs are minute and the larvae barely larger — about the size of a comma, translucent and pale. Against soil, bark or a leaf they read as nothing at all
Storage
None. Deploy the day they arrive. Left in the bottle they will immediately eat one another, and we cannot replace them in that circumstance
Where it works
Optimal temp
59–90°F. Cold slows the hatch, heat brings it forward
Humidity
40–70% RH. A light misting of the foliage before release helps the eggs through the hatch and gives the neonates a drink
Habitat
Dense foliage and heavy canopies — Alocasia, Philodendron — where the larvae can shelter and hunt
Establishes
No. The larvae pupate and the adults leave to find flowers. This is a release, not a population — the next wave has to come from you
Running it
Deploy
The whole container, eggs and carrier together, across the plant and the soil around it. Do not try to pick the eggs out
Dose
About 10 larvae per 6" plant for an active infestation
Release timing
Evening, or with the lights dimmed, so they do not crawl away toward the light. Spread thin and wide — the larvae are cannibalistic and will eat each other at high density
Eggs or larvae?
Larvae are the incubated, curative stage — hunting within a day of arrival. Eggs are the cheaper stage, for low pressure and for getting ahead of a colony
Keep separate from
Broad-spectrum insecticides. Ants — they defend aphid colonies and will attack the larvae. Sticky cards will catch the adults
Chemical interval
One day after neem oil or insecticidal soap. Never with sulfur, at any dilution
