Brown Lacewing

This little lacewing showed for her photo shoot, right on time.
She is quite lovely all decked out in her lace finery. And just look at those eyes, the camera loves her.
Seriously though, these are cool insects. Gardeners love them for the appetite of the offspring. The larva of these tiny little insects have a voracious hunger. They feed on aphids, thrips, leaf hopper eggs, tiny caterpillars and various other injurious insects. It is said that a single lacewing larvae could potentially consume up to 600 aphids in its youth. Earning them the name of "Aphid Lion". They spend approximately 3 weeks as a larvae, pupation occurs in the form of a tiny silken cocoon attached to a leaf. In about 2 weeks the adult will emerge. They are commonly seen at porch lights at night. The adults eat some nectar or possibly plant juices.
In this part of Missouri I typically see this species and one other, the Green Lacewing, which is a lovely shade of light lime green. They are a common sight and are often over looked because they are so ordinary. Look for them this summer, and consider yourself lucky that they are nearby helping rid your garden of all those nasty little pests bent on making a meal of your veggies and plants.