beneficial insects

The best part of spending as much time as I do working in my yard is that I end up being very
close to nature and thus I see a lot of things we normally would never notice . Yesterday, as
I was arranging boulders on a bank, something backlit by the rising sun caught my eye.

How COOL!

The eggs are on silk threads attached to a Christmas Cholla spine.
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I knew they were insect eggs but didn’t know which insect. What a wonderful surprise to find
out that they were the eggs of a very beneficial insect called a Lacewing. They are so beneficial
that, like Lady Bugs, they are sold as natural pest control.


Click here for info on the Lacewing.

Shot with a Canon SX10. Having the tilting viewing screen allowed me to get close.

2 thoughts on “beneficial insects”

  1. OMG – What a serendipitous find this is. I can only imagine your excitement. I am just staring at this photo thinking how amazing it is how they attached their eggs. Will you be watching for these to hatch?

  2. This is by far the coolest find yet, I agree! It’s very close to the front door so I can check it every morning. I would be helpful to find out how long they take to hatch. I could do a time lapse!

    Anyway, thanks for the comment Carol. You love gardening as much as I do so I understand why you’re enjoying my photos 🙂

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