Blue Eyes Lacewing - Nymphes myrmeleonides

Family Nymphidae

This page contains pictures and information about Blue Eyes Lacewings that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia. They are also known as Common Lacewing and Giant Orange Lacewing.


Body length 40mm

We found a lot of Blue Eyes Lacewings in Brisbane bushland in mid summer. They have a pair of transparent wings of about equal size. When fly, they may be mistaken as dragonflies. But their wings are fold in tent shape whish dragonflies do not do. They can also distinguished by their long antenna.



Adult body is orange-brown in colour, with iridescent grey eyes. The moniliform antennae are black with pale apex. Legs are pale yellow. Their transparence wings are narrow with a white marking on the wing tips.


Photo: Keith Power, Toowoomba

A closer look of the Blue Eyes Lacewing.



They are usually found hiding in dense vegetations hang under leaves. They are not very good flier. When disturbed, they usually fly slowly to two or three metes away.


Eggs of Blue Eyes Lacewing



They lay white eggs arranged in 'U' shape on large tree trunk and fences.


Photo by: Keith Power, Toowoomba Larvae raised by : Sue Ellis, Toowoomba
Lacewing larvae just hatched.

The larvae are litter dwellers, they cover themselves with debris. They are predators for other small insects. They hunt under logs or debris. The larvae of this Nymphidae family has one internal tooth on each mandible.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 530.
2. Wildlife of greater Brisbane - Queensland Museum, p99.
3. Notes on the Common Lacewing (Nymphes myrmeleonides) - John Stumm, Butterfly and Other Invertebrates Club, Newsletter Issue 38, Sep 2005, page 6.
4. A revision of the Australian Nymphidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) - TR New 1981, Australian Journal of Zoology 29(5) 707 - 750.