Tuesday 19 January 2021

Lacewings Neuroptera

As the weeks went by and I had finished the therapy on my wrists, my thoughts turned to buying a Sony camera. I didn't want a new expensive camera, but one exactly like the one that broke, so hubby and I searched on e-bay and after many weeks of trying without success, two came up at the same time. I chose the one advertised as "Like New," and after three weeks, the camera arrived, and it did indeed look like new and I could hardly wait to try it out. I started out by taking photos of insects, in a field near my house, and became fascinated with the insect world.


The beautiful lacewing has fragile see through wings, which give them their name.


The ones I saw were blue-green lacewings, with extensive black markings. They have black veined wings, and a black underside to their abdomen, and are 1 to 2 cm in length.


Adult lacewings have ears at the base of their wings, and although small, they have really great hearing.


Lacewings have a huge appetite for aphids, mites, leaf hoppers, and many soft bodied insects, as do the larvae "not shown in this post." They are ferocious predators.

The best areas for lacewings are areas with a large variety of plants. Adults also seek nectar and pollen.


Lacewing larvae are great pollinators, and the perfect pest control for your garden, and of course the farmers, and gardeners friend.


Grasses, Yarrow, Queen Anne's lace, Marguerite daisies, and Goldenrod are some of their favourite flowers


Their beautiful almost turquoise colour drew me to where they were poised, the blue is so pretty. I have seen green Lacewings, which I have always found under a leaf, and they are more difficult to spot on the greenery, but this was the first time I have seen this colour. 

35 comments:

La Biosfera de Lola said...

Son unas fotos preciosas amiga, la cámara se ve que va muy bien y me alegra. Un placer poder leerte de nuevo. Un fuerte abrazo.

Martha said...

I'm usually not a huge fan of insect photography but the blue Lacewings are beautiful! Looks like the new camera is great too, excellent captures!

Marijke said...

Good morning,
Great that you've found a new camera. Beautiful photo's of the Lacewing.
Have a wonderful day and a lot of photography moments.
Marijke

Teresa said...

Te quedaron preciosas las fotografías. Besos.

MadSnapper said...

this is really amazing to me, I have not seen or even hear of one of these. I need a couple of them to get the aphids off our powder puff bushes.. he certainly is quite handsome.. the wings are gorgeous and a benefit to our world is what they are. so happy for you that you found the same camera.. so much easier when you don't have to learn how to use it. I had forgotten you broke your camera, that was a long time ago..

Jeevan said...

Great capture and details to notice on the lacewings! The blue-green combo stands out in your images. Congrats on the new second-hand camera, and I'm glad to see you blogging again :) And hope you doing well

Take care

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Well, if these are the results from the first day, Sonjia, just think what it will be like when you get familiar with the camera and all its settings. You certainly found a very attractive subject for your first foray. i will look forward to more to come.

Hootin Anni said...

Great post. Both in photos and your narration! The lacewings are very pretty! (I learned from you about ears on their wings...incredible). I hope you continue to enjoy your newly purchased camera!

This N That said...

Looks like your new camera was a good find. Wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Hi friend... Beautiful pictures... Well done... I hope you're well... Stay safe m.

sami niilola said...

Awesome lacewing. And photos are superb. Have a nice evening.

Richard Pegler said...

How wonderful to see you back on blogger with your gorgeous photos, Sonjia. It has been a long while!

I was so very sorry to hear of your health problems and breakages. Such difficulties must have made the loss of your beautiful Mel even harder to bear. My sincere condolences.

Take care in these difficult times, and stay safe - - - Richard

Lowcarb team member said...

I so enjoyed this post.
So pleased your new camera has been such a success.
Your photographs are so lovely and I agree with Anni your narration is perfect.
A lovely read, and look at these beautiful, and so delicate looking lacewings.

Enjoy your new camera.

All the best Jan

Lucyna Drozłowska said...

Zachwycające fotografie owada.

Nancy Chan said...

It is a beautiful insect with lacewings. I haven't seen any lacewings in my garden.

Mike Attwood said...

Thats a terrific start with your new camera. I am a great fan of SONY and have been since they took over MINOLTA. Stay safe.
Mike.

hmuxo said...

God’s little creatures... beautiful color. Good choice on your camera.... it took amazing closeups of the lacewings....
Enjoy!!!!! A perfect day to start clicking.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Your insect photos are just awesome. I love the lacywings, just beautiful. Looks like you have a great new camera, beautiful photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for the comment.

Phil Slade said...

Hi Sonjia. I think you chose well with that Sony. Your pictures are really sharp and colourful. I have an A600 but would love to upgrade to the A7R IV but it's very expensive.

Adam Jones said...

You did very well to capture these amazing Lacewings.

Klara S said...

Beautifully captured.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You took some amazing photos and it is a very unusual color! So pretty and lacy! Enjoy your weekend! The camera is working great! Congrats!

Debbie said...

it sounds like the "new to you" camera is working out well. you pictures are exquisite, the blue lacewing is a pretty insect!!

Irma said...

Your insect photos are just great.
The Sony is a good camera, I also work with it, I have a compact camera.
Exchanged all heavy stuff from Canon and bought the Sony in return, I'm very happy with it.
Greetings Irma

carol l mckenna said...

Beautiful photos of the insect world ~ gorgeous!

Moment by moment,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful Lacewing images Sonjia, you achieve must a first day out.

Guillermo García-Saúco said...

Beautiful photos! Lacewings are amazing little animals.

orchid0324 said...

Dearest Breathtaking; Thank you very much for visiting and SO happy to visit your blog again (♡^.^♡)
To tell the truth my husband loves Dragonfly; And I let him see your Lacewings Neuroptera (Mayfly) picture. He looked so interested in your pictures p:-) Happy for the camera thing, I remember I was so sad I broke the former one.
Yes, your pictures are "Breathtaking", it was fun to see my husband got so fascinated in this blog post.
Considering the situation we are facing (and ages of me and my husband), lets take care of ourselves(♡^.^♡)
Love and hugs; Miyako*

Nelson said...

Wonderful - as always!

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Amazing captures of these beautiful dragonflies. The wing details are captured beautifully.

Thank you for linking up and sharing your post! Take care, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for visiting and for the comment.

Mae Travels said...

The lacewings are indeed a beautiful species.

be safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Rain said...

The Lacewings are just gorgeous, very much like lace!!! :) The colouring is beautiful too!

Linda said...

Gorgeous colour on the lacewings, fantastic photos.

Shiju Sugunan said...

What a beautiful insect. Lovely captures!

NatureFootstep said...

wow, that´s a beauty. Aptly named too :)

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