Will I have bugs flying around my house?

No. The larvae can't fly, and they stay on the plants where the aphids are. After two to three weeks they pupate, and the adults that come out feed on pollen and nectar and leave to find flowers. You may never see one.

How soon will I see results after releasing the eggs?

These are eggs, so there is a wait — and it runs on temperature rather than on a fixed number of days. In a warm room they hatch in a few days. In cooler conditions it can be up to two weeks. That is normal and it is not a fault; nothing will look like it is happening in the meantime. Once they hatch the larvae hunt straight away and feed for two to three weeks. Aphid numbers falling quietly is how you know it worked — you are unlikely to ever see a larva. If the wait is the problem — aphids already climbing, a plant you are worried about — buy the Larvae instead. Those ship pre-incubated and hatch about a day after they reach you, whatever the weather is doing.

Can I use Lacewings alongside other beneficial insects?

Yes. Lacewings are excellent team players in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. They work well alongside soil-dwelling predators like Hypoaspis miles and can be used in the same canopy as Aphidius wasps. However, because they are generalists, they may occasionally snack on other beneficial larvae, so spread them out across the plants rather than piling them in one spot.

Will the adult lacewings stay in my garden?

The larvae are the "workhorses" that eat the pests. Once they mature into adults (the iconic green winged insects), they shift their diet to nectar and pollen. To encourage them to stay and lay a second generation of eggs in your garden, we recommend providing a food source like our Breeder’s Blend or having flowering plants nearby.

What should I do if I can't release them immediately?

Beneficial insects are live organisms and are happiest when released the day they arrive. If you need to wait, the container is best kept horizontal in a cool, dark place (46°F – 50°F) and released within about 24 hours. Best kept above 41°F, where the developing embryos do best.

How many eggs do I need per 6" plant?

Preventative: roughly 5–10 eggs per 6" plant, to have something on patrol before a colony forms. Active aphids: increase to 25–50 eggs per 6" plant — and spread them across as many leaves as you can. Newly hatched larvae eat each other before they find aphids if they come out in a pile. Pro Tip: these ship without an adhesive, so expect some roll-off on smooth leaves. Aim for leaf axils and stem crotches rather than flat surfaces, and count what lands on the soil as still in play — the larvae climb.

Can I release lacewing eggs after spraying?

It depends on what you sprayed. Insecticidal soap, horticultural oil and neem work on contact and leave little behind once they've dried, so they're generally fine to follow once the leaves are dry (give insecticidal soap a day). Longer-lasting and systemic insecticides are different: they can keep harming lacewing eggs and larvae for much longer, so check the product label before you release. There's no single waiting period that fits every spray.

How many lacewing eggs do I need?

Count the plants you want covered. For a bigger space, measure the floor area instead. By plants: 250 eggs for 1 to 2 plants, 500 for 5, 1,250 for 10, 2,500 for 25, 5,000 for 50. By area: 10,000 eggs for 200 sq ft, 15,000 for 300 sq ft, 25,000 for 500 sq ft. Adjust for pressure: heavy pressure, go one size up; light pressure, one size down. One size is one release. Spread it thinly across as many plants and leaves as you can. Check again after about two weeks, once the eggs have had time to hatch and the larvae to feed: you're looking for fewer aphids and clean new growth. Repeat every 2 to 4 weeks for maintenance, or weekly for three weeks on a light infestation. If the aphids are already heavy, the pre-incubated Larvae are the better buy, because they skip the hatch wait.

Green Lacewing Eggs

Name: Green Lacewing Eggs
Brand: FGMN Nursery
SKU: LACE-EGG-250
Price: 21.00 USD
Availability: InStock

Chrysoperla carnea4.116 reviews

$21per bottle

Aphids are one of the most common pests there is. You're in good company.

Aphids the main problem? The most plants covered for the money: the eggs hatch into aphid lions that hunt leaf by leaf.

1Size. How many plants?

2How often?

Plan on a release every 2–4 weeks while aphids are active.

3Add to cart.

Quantity

Ships Mon–Thu2-day or overnight
Live arrival coveredReport concerns within 72 hours
Free shippingOn orders from $30

Pairs well with

Ladybugs

Ladybugs knock aphids down fast; the larvae stay and keep eating

300 Ladybugs ·$35

Buying for a group or a business? · Wholesale

01 · The problem

Are lacewing eggs right for your aphids?

Signs it's aphids

Soft, pear-shaped bugs clustered on new growth and under leaves.
Sticky honeydew on the leaves below them.
Curled new growth where they've been feeding.

Seeing these? Good catch. The sooner you start, the smaller the job.

You receive: Lacewing eggs, not yet hatched, loose in a dry carrier
Main target: Aphids, every kind, from the first few to colonies you can see
Best conditions: About 64–82°F, ordinary room humidity
Not for: Thrips, spider mites, mealybugs or whitefly as the main problem

Works on

Aphids, every kind
Mealybug and scale crawlers, on encounter
Thrips larvae, on encounter
Small moth eggs and young caterpillars

Not the answer for

Thrips, spider mites, mealybugs or whitefly as the main pest
Anything in the soil
Adult and armored scale

02 · Meet the beneficial

Chrysoperla carnea

Adults can hear bats coming. Aphids never hear the larvae.

Adult lacewings can hear the high-pitched calls bats hunt with. When a bat closes in, they swerve into wild escape flight.

Eggs that change color
A lacewing egg starts pale green or white, turns bluish-green, then goes gray just before the hungry larva hatches.
Named for a golden face
The lacewing's scientific name, Chrysopidae, comes from the Greek for "gold" and "face", after the adults' shiny golden eyes.
Courtship by duet
Lookalike lacewing species tell each other apart by song: pairs duet by drumming vibrations through the leaf or stem they stand on.

03 · How it works

Living hunters, working on their own

Easy to start. Open, release, done. Nothing to mix or spray.
They search for you. Most pests are too small to spot. Predators find them anyway, so you don't need to know where every one is hiding.
They stay where the food is. For the most part they settle where the pests are and keep working.
Another round is normal. Living things work in waves. You'll see the results as fewer pests on the plant.

With eggs, the hunters hatch on your plant. The larvae are tiny and most people never see one, so judge by the aphids.

Lacewing egg temperature and storage

64–82°FBest in this range. The warmer the room, the faster they hatch. Ordinary room humidity is fine.

Out the day they arriveIf you truly must wait, keep them cool and dark (46–50°F) and release within about 24 hours.

Sprays firstNeem and horticultural oil: once dry. Insecticidal soap: one day. Sulfur: 21 days. Anything else? Ask Toby.

04 · Not your conditions?

Choose one of these instead

Not quite your situation? No problem. If your space or your pest is different, one of these fits better.

You want hunting to start tomorrowGreen Lacewing Larvae

Pre-incubated: they hatch about a day after delivery

View →

Aphids keep coming backAphidius colemani

A wasp that multiplies on the plant and finds the stragglers

View →

Crowded stems in a humid roomAphidoletes aphidimyza

Midge larvae that clear dense colonies

View →

05 · The plan

How to release lacewing eggs

No experience needed. Here's all it takes.

Deal with ants first
Ants guard aphids and attack lacewing larvae. A sticky band or bait goes down before you release.
Nothing moving yet
The eggs are loose in the carrier and too small to pick out. Most people never see a larva either, so judge them by the aphids.
Let them warm up
Let the container come to room temperature, then gently turn it to spread the eggs through the carrier.
Sprinkle into leaf joints
Eggs and carrier together, into leaf axils and stem crotches where they settle. Eggs on the soil still count.
Thin and wide, then leave them
Spread across every plant with aphids, out of hot direct sun. Crowded larvae eat each other first.

06 · What happens next

What to expect

Living things work at their own pace. Here's what normal looks like.

A few days to hatch
The warmer the room, the faster: a few days when warm, up to two weeks when cool. Nothing looks like it's happening, and that's normal.
Don't wait to see them
The larvae are tiny, and most people never spot them, so don't wait to see them before judging. Watch the aphids instead.
Two to three weeks of hunting
Each larva feeds for two to three weeks, then spins a small round cocoon. Leave it be: that's a lacewing, not a pest.
Adults eat nectar, not pests
The green, lacy-winged adults feed on pollen and nectar and move on. Repeat every 2–4 weeks while aphids are around.

How many do I need?

How many lacewing eggs to buy

Each size is built for the plants or square feet in its name. More plants beats more eggs per plant.

One or two plants	250 eggs
A shelf, up to 25 plants	2,500 eggs
A greenhouse bench, up to 200 sq ft	10,000 eggs

07 · Reviews

What growers say

5 stars: 9 (56%)
4 stars: 3 (19%)
3 stars: 2 (13%)
2 stars: 0 (0%)
1 star: 2 (13%)

They are alive!

They are alive! I have ordered lacewing eggs from other companies in the past only to find it a waste of money with no activity after weeks of waiting. Some of the eggs have already hatched by the time i opened the bottle and i could see them crawling around in the container.

Effective lil guys!

I can see them crawling around, knocking out the bad guys ☺️🥰

Arrived timely

Arrived timely. Live little guys are visible.

As advertised

As advertised. Don’t know if they hatched

Arrived ready to party

Amazing little eaters. Arrived and transitioned to the next stage shortly after I added them to the plants. They have been busy and I have hope they can get the aphid issue under control.

I originally had lady bugs in mind to combat a spider mite issue but upon ordering fgmn suggested lacewing eggs to avoid flying critters that I didn't want in my home. I ordered around 11am on Thursday and realized that the green lacewings will eventually fly as well. This is not what I want. I contacted customer service less than, 24 hours after the original order to discuss other options. Narrowed it down to predator mites. Customer service refused to take returns even though I didn't receive the product. No offer to rectify the situation. I'm still dealing with a prolific spider mite situation and I don't see any larvae that hatched from the eggs. I feel like I paid 50 bucks for nothing. I will not be revisiting this company.

Hi Brandon,

I'm sorry to hear that our prompt processing of your order and prompt replies to your emails were upsetting to you. We strive to process every order within 24 hours if at all possible. I'm happy to hear that yours was processed promptly after receiving it, but I understand this created frustration when you changed your mind the following morning.

Worked even better than I

Worked even better than I expected!

VERDICT IS STILL OUT

The verdict is still out as I don’t know if the eggs hatched, or whether I successfully dispersed the eggs correctly as I have not seen any Green Lacewings in my garden. That’s why I only gave the product 4 stars. If rating the purchase & status updates—totally 5 stars.

Hi Erin, thanks for sharing your experience! I just wanted to stop by and let you know that it takes about 3 months from the eggs to go from eggs to adult lacewings, but don't worry -- those larvae are eating all of the pests along the way. Thank you so much!!!!

Eggs never hatched. Sachets had dead mites all over the bags. Not packed properly.

Hi Chelsi,

I’m sorry to hear about your experience. There are no sachets nor mites with green lacewing eggs. Would you mind reaching out to our customer service team to help understand what may have occurred? Unfortunately, on the Shop app I cannot list their email here, but you’re welcome to reply to your receipt.

They worked

They worked well!

Ordering was easy - results just not what was expected

Ordering was easy and arrived very timely - eggs seemed to be intact but nothing seemed to ever hatch. We have seen minimal activity in our area they were released on our covered porch and have checked daily. So not sure if it was our mistake or if there was an issue with the shipment.

Hi Brittany, thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry the eggs didn't hatch as expected. Sometimes environmental factors can affect their success. For instance, temperature can delay their hatch for up to 14 days. Please reach out to us and we'll be happy to diagnose the problem with you! The customer service team is at info@fgmnnursery.com

Great

Great so far!!

Not so sure

Not so sure. I put them out, top of the canopy. The eggs and carrier material were there a few days,then we had a rain. I never saw one lacewing and seem to have more aphids than before.

Hi Martha,

Thanks for sharing your experience. A few things worth knowing for outdoor lacewing releases that might help on your next try. Apologies for not successfully making this clearer to you before buying!

Weather is one of the biggest variables outdoors — rain in the days after release can disrupt eggs before they hatch, which is why we usually recommend checking the forecast for a 3-4 day dry window before applying. Lacewing larvae are also extremely small and well camouflaged once they hatch, so not seeing them is normal even on successful releases — pest decline over 2-3 weeks is the real measure, not visible larvae. Completely understand you’re not seeing that right now…. Which likely means the rain washed away the scent of the aphids and they got a bit lost trying to find them, and possibly wandered away. If you’d like to talk through a more effective setup for your situation, reach out anytime at info@fgmnnursery.com — happy to help.

Review

The package arrived on good shape -
We hung packets in our trees and shrubs- put some food in and let them go
We put the unused in the refrigerator.

To date, we’ve seen no little helpers. Not sure if maybe our temps are too high? We usually have daytime highs in the 90-100 range….
Thanks!
Sheila Gansch

Thank you for your thoughtful review and for giving the green lacewing eggs a try! The hot daytime temperatures you mentioned (90–100°F) can definitely impact how quickly the eggs hatch and how active the larvae are once they emerge. Sometimes it takes a little longer for them to become visible, since the first instar larvae are quite tiny and easy to miss at first.

You did everything right by hanging the packets and refrigerating the extras — that helps a lot. With the heat, you may notice a bit of a delay, but once they start moving, they’ll get right to work.

Great so far

Great so far. This is the third company I’m trying. Karen responds promptly and professionally. I told the prior two companies that delivery could not be on Wednesdays. I told them several times. They delivered each time on a Wednesday. I told Karen once and they were delivered on a different day 👍🏼

Before you order

All your questions, answered

Something else? Toby's in the chat, bottom right, and happy to help.

When does it ship, and how does it arrive?

Lacewing eggs loose through a dry carrier. Nothing will be moving yet; the carrier goes out onto the plant with them. Live orders ship Monday to Thursday, 2-day or overnight, whichever suits them best. Free shipping from $30. Free shipping from $30; $15 under that.

What if something's wrong when it arrives?

If there's a problem when your order arrives, email info@fgmnnursery.com with your order number within 72 hours of delivery. You choose a replacement or store credit.

Will the eggs stay on the leaves?

Not all of them. There's no glue, so aim for leaf axils, stem crotches and crumpled new growth where they settle. Eggs that land on the soil aren't wasted: the larvae hatch and climb toward the aphids.

Eggs or larvae?

Same insect, different timing. Eggs hatch on your room's schedule and cover more plants for the money. Larvae are pre-incubated and hatch about a day after delivery, so they start hunting sooner.

Can I use them with other beneficials?

Yes. They work alongside Aphidius wasps in the same canopy and soil predators like Stratiolaelaps. Spread them across the plants rather than in one spot.

Ready when you are