Lacewing (Dustywings) Cryptoscenea australiensis

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Dicondylia
Infraclass: Pterygota
Order: Neuroptera
Family: Coniopterygidae
Genus: Cryptoscenea
Species: C. australiensis
Binomial name: Cryptoscenea australiensis
Synonyms: Helicoconis australiensis
Common name: Dustywings

Cryptoscenea australiensis is a very small species of coniopterygidae lacewings and is the one species of Cryptoscenea that is shared with Australia. It has a length of less the 6mm. The wings are longer than the body and are held in steep `tent' over the body when at rest. The body, wings and appendages are usually with white or grey wax or `meal' secreted by wax glands on various parts of the body so that the insects superficially resemble whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).
The female lays oval eggs singly on foliage or bark and they hatch in one to three weeks.
The larvae take a few weeks to a few months to develop. They spin flat, silken cocoons on vegetation. The predatory larvae have been recorded feeding on the eggs of Phenacoccus graminosus (a mealybug).

Cryptoscenea australiensis a member of Dustywings ..JPG

Cryptoscenea australiensis a member of Dustywings .-001.JPG 

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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