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Lacewing

Neuroptera

Lacewing

The larvae are the interesting part. They're semi-aquatic, which almost nothing else in Neuroptera is — they live in wet moss, gravel, and stream margins, hunting midge larvae and other soft prey. Like all neuropteran larvae they have no mouth as such: the mandible and maxilla on each side lock together into a hollow sucking tube, which they drive into prey to inject digestive enzymes and then drain it. Adults are weak, fluttery fliers and mostly nocturnal, which is why they turn up at lights and on leaves after dark, as here.

Photography by

Tim Smith ↗
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