Adults are small, delicate green insects with large tansparent wings having prominent wings that give it the lacy appearance that gives them their name. Adults fly at night or near dawn and dusk and dine on pollen, nectar, and small insects.

Larvae are crawling bugs that look like tiny trilobites. They feast on aphids and are known as aphid lions. They have spines on their backs to which they attach bits of lichen, plant matter, drained aphid carcasses, etc. This debris, which they carry around, camouflages them and allows them to sneak up on aphids without being seen by the ants that often guard and shepherd them.

A large number of species of lacewings look much alike, as adults and as larvae, unless you can get them under a microscope. To find the larvae, watch for ambulatory debris!