Take for example, this lacewing that I found recently in my backyard.

This lacewing appears to be dead.  It has grown pale white and has some ‘stuff’ on it.  In cases like this, I do not know truly what has happened but I can comment on what I have observed.

First, it appears that the time of year does not affect when this phenomenon occurs.  The picture above was taken on October 25th.  The following picture was taken on April 23rd.

This appears to be the same phenomenon and the same type of insect.  It also occurred in very nearly the same place in the yard – a large rhodendron bush on the size of our house.  Also, both subjects were around the same height – about five feet from the ground.  However, it’s likely that I just happened to look in the same spot.

I believe that this is a lacewing – though I have wrongly identified insects a number of times before.

So if anyone has any ideas with this mystery, please let me know!

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However, as will soon be evident, this highly beneficial bug has a rather macabre habit.

Lacewings, of the order Neuroptera, are highly beneficial insects in the garden.  They feed heavily on aphids, scales, and other pests in the garden.  However, as some of you know, many aphids are tended by ants, who use their sugary secretions as food and in return protect the aphids from enemies.  Though fierce, a lacewing larva is no match for a group of ants.

To solve this problem, the larva creates a form of camouflage – consisting of various ‘junk’.  It then uses this camouflage in a similar way to the wolf wearing a sheep disguise.  When covered with this ‘disguise’, the ants often do not bother the lacewing and it can have its fill of appetizing aphids.  This is covered in the book, For the Love of Insects, which I have not read yet but is on my wish list to purchase soon.

Here’s another shot of it looking up at the camera.

However, the disguise they use isn’t just any disguise.  While some lacewings do use various things they find, many lacewings use the carcasses of past victims.  I suspect their is a particular reason for this.  Perhaps if a lacewing covers itself with the bodies of aphids, the ants will take it as an aphid too.  After all, as I understand most ants do not use sight nearly as much as they use chemical signals.  Here’s a closer shot of it.

In this shot it does appear that on its back is the carcass of something it ate.  I suspect that this particular type of lacewing doesn’t primarily feed on aphids, as it was found in a location where aphids are not common (they are by the roses and other flowers, not on the patio furniture).  I was very happy to find this bug, as I have seen several pictures of them and had hoped to find one myself, so this is a big CHECK on my list.

When I was in Peru someone asked me what would finally satisfy me in terms of a wildlife sighting.  I responded that when I see two Goeldi monkeys (very rare) riding a jaguar, I would be finished.  The corollary in the insect world would be to see two giant lacewings (suspected to be exctinct) fluttering around a giant earwig (believed to be exctinct).  When I have seen that, my list will be complete.

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