Green Large Lacewing - Myiodactylus sp.

Family Nymphidae

This page contains pictures and information about Green Large Lacewings that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Adult body length 20mm

Adult is pale green in colour with black eyes. The moniliform antennae and all legs are same colour as the body, pale green in colour. Wings are clear with thin pale or black veins.



We sometimes found this small lacewing adult attracted by window-light and rest near our window glass. They are common in Brisbane, although sometime it may be mixed up with the species in family Chrysopidae, however, its moniliform antenna and wings veins pattern tell us this lacewing is in this family Nymphidae.



The larvae sometimes found hiding under those leaves.



The above pictures show the flattened disc-like larva, which lies on the bottom side of a leaf, waiting for prey with jaws widely opened.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 540.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p322.
3. Newsletter - Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club, Issue 38, Sep 2005, page 5.
4. A revision of the Australian Nymphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) - TR New 1981, Australian Journal of Zoology 29(5) 707 - 750.