Apochrysinae Chrysopinae Nothochrysinae and see text Green lacewings are insects in the large family Chrysopidae of the order Neuroptera.

The vernacular name "stinkflies", used chiefly for Chrysopa species but also for others (e.g. Cunctochrysa) refers to their ability to release a vile smell from paired prothoracic glands when handled.

Some Chrysopa show evasive behavior when they hear a bat's ultrasound calls: when in flight, they close their wings (making their echolocational signature smaller) and drop down to the ground.

For example, the southern European Chrysoperla mediterranea looks almost identical to its northern relative C. carnea, but their courtship "songs" are very different; individuals of one species will not react to the other's vibrations.

[citation needed] While depending on species and environmental conditions, some green lacewings will eat only about 150 prey items in their entire lives, in other cases 100 aphids will be eaten in a single week.

Thus, in several countries, millions of such voracious Chrysopidae are reared for sale as biological control agents of insect and mite pests in agriculture and gardens.

Species that have hitherto attracted wider study and are more or less readily available as captive-bred eggs to deposit out for hatching in pest-infested plant cultures are several members of Chrysoperla as well as Mallada signatus.

[4] They are a natural predator of the European corn borer, a moth that costs the US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and population control.

[5][6] Gardeners can attract these lacewings – and therefore ensure a steady supply of larvae – by using certain companion plants and tolerating beneficial weeds.