[scottburgess]

Darned if the spider mites aren't everywhere, despite my best efforts to eradicate them. But I found that help arrived today in the form of a lacewing (seen here amid the spider mite eggs).

[anyscreenamewilldo]

yummo breakfast, nice how they can locate a good feed - hope it clears all those pesky mites out and invites it's friends along for the feast - a super shot Scott, lovely eyes and what looks like hands to shovel those delicious mites in

[scottburgess]

[quote name='anyscreenamewilldo' timestamp='1283051860' post='2291']

yummo breakfast, nice how they can locate a good feed - hope it clears all those pesky mites out and invites it's friends along for the feast - a super shot Scott, lovely eyes and what looks like hands to shovel those delicious mites in

[/quote]



Thanks--it took me a while to get a shot at high enough magnification that the eyes were significant in the viewfinder. Still wasn't sure I had a sharp take until I downloaded them. Things can be iffy at 15+ times life size, and this sort of thing takes patience.



From what I've read, the adults generally subsist on pollen, nectar, and other plant products--but they lay tiny eggs that hatch into larvae. The larvae are voracious predators of aphids, spider mites, and their ilk. Within about three to four weeks, they have grown fully, spun a cocoon, and hatched into hundreds more lacewings.



There is a dark egg on the right in the photo--I don't know what that one is, but possibly a lacewing egg?? The larger creamy ones appear to be spider mite eggs.



Scott