Lacewing or Leafhopper?

I was battling leafhoppers earlier in the growing season, and lately I’ve been thinking these were baby leafhoppers but now I’m thinking they are lacewings. Especially because of the lacewing eggs I am finding on my plants:

So, lacewings or leafhoppers? Friend or foe?


Lacewings = friends @Lacewing

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@grizZz thanks for tagging
@Autoregulator the insect latched onto your stem are indeed leafhopper/sharpshooter insects …nothing that’s going to cause an infestation however they suck on your plant …I always just brush them off …the can be persistent and not really care that you try and get rid of them …they usually just go away on their own
The egg you have taken a pic of us INDEED a lacewing egg and that is definitely a good friend to your plant …keep an eye on it …once it’s ready to hatch it will turn grey and if you have a loupe you can actually see it taking shape inside …once it hatches it may hang around on the egg for a bit then crawl down the stalk and start looking for prey …it should hang around for about 4 weeks then it will find a spot and spin a cocoon around itself and pupate into an adult and leave your plant .

Awesome find …I also don’t see the weather doing a single thing to the egg

Wind /rain …they survive somehow
Pretty amazing

And you have a good spot in my opinion if they occur naturally on your property !!

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@Autoregulator
This is the adult lacewing
And there is also a brown lacewing but only the green one lays it’s egg on a stalk like that

It also is a nocturnal insect and you most like will not see one during the day …

The adult also preys on aphids and mites ,thrips .mealy bugs whiteflies all those types of insect but the larva is the real danger to those pests
Look up some videos on them …it will suck the life out the eggs and larve and adults of the pest insect and toss it aside and grab another …sometimes once the egg hatches and it’s exoskeleton isn’t fully formed it will grab small debris and even pieces of insect carcass to disguise itself until it’s a bit older …

Also they usually don’t leave the plant they were laid on …

I also look around my property and see them quite often on other plants …they are very easy to trick into something like a cigarette wrapper …and then transfer onto another plant …
image

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@Lacewing Thanks for the information. Yes, I had seen photos of the adult lacewing but have not seen them on my plants. I was worried that the leafhopper in the first set of pics was in fact a lacewing larvae and just wanted to check. I will continue to flick those off my plants when I see them.

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@Autoregulator no problem …the good thing is once that lacewing egg hatches …all it will do is look for pest insects to eat …

Yesterday afternoon I found one on my plant also …I’m about 3 weeks into flower so I should be pest free during the most important time …it’s not ideal of course to spray anything on the bud sites

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