Signate Green Lacewing vs Giant Lacewing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Signate Green Lacewing Giant Lacewing
Scientific Name Mallada signatus Polystoechotes punctata
Order Neuroptera Neuroptera
Family Chrysopidae Ithonidae
Size 14-18 mm wingspan 40-75 mm wingspan
Habitat Gardens Rivers & Streams
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Australia North America
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Signate Green Lacewing

An Australian native lacewing commercially available for garden pest control. One of few lacewings sold in hardware stores for home use.

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Did You Know?

It is sold as eggs on cards in Australian garden centers for home gardeners to release.

Giant Lacewing

Once widespread across North America, it vanished from the eastern US by the 1950s. A single specimen was rediscovered in Walmart parking lot in Arkansas in 2012 after 50 years.

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Did You Know?

This giant lacewing was thought extinct in eastern North America for 50 years — until a single specimen was collected at a Walmart parking lot in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2012.