Ceraeochrysa cubana

(Hagen, 1861)

green lacewing

Ceraeochrysa cubana is a green lacewing widely distributed across the Americas, from the Caribbean and Middle America through South America. Larvae are voracious important for of agricultural pests. The species exhibits high genetic diversity in agroecosystems and shows associative learning capabilities in stages.

Ceraeochrysa cubana by (c) Arturo Santos, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Arturo Santos. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Ceraeochrysa cubana: //sɛˈreɪ.oʊˌkɹaɪ.sə kjuˈbɑːnə//

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Habitat

Agroecosystems in Southeast Brazil, including coffee, corn, and soybean crops. Found in agricultural environments more broadly across its range.

Distribution

Widely distributed across the Americas: Caribbean, Middle America, North America, and South America. Specific records from Brazil including Acre, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rondônia, Roraima, and São Paulo.

Diet

and larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda; eggs of Anagasta kuehniella as alternative prey. feed on plant-provided food and honeydew.

Host Associations

Spodoptera frugiperda - prey and larvae consumed; third instar larvae show highest consumption and shortest search and handling times on neonate larvae
Anagasta kuehniella - alternative prey used as food source in laboratory rearing

Life Cycle

Development from larva to takes 25.5 days when fed Anagasta kuehniella , 25.9 days on Spodoptera frugiperda eggs, 35.7 days on S. frugiperda larvae, and 34.6 days on combined eggs and larvae of S. frugiperda. Shorter development period when fed eggs versus larvae.

Behavior

stages exhibit associative learning: larvae exposed to methyl salicylate associated with food are attracted to this volatile and use it to locate food patches, while those exposed to the volatile during food deprivation are repelled. Third instar larvae show greater consumption and reduced search and handling times on prey compared to .

Ecological Role

of agricultural pest and early instar larvae, particularly Spodoptera frugiperda. Contributes to mortality of early life stages of crop pests with potential importance for . High among suggests effective in agroecosystems.

Human Relevance

Used for of agricultural pests. Important for programs. Subject of survival and behavioral avoidance studies.

Similar Taxa

Ceraeochrysa claveriCongeneric with similar ; both are green lacewings used in and exhibit trash-carrying larval . C. claveri has been documented using mealybug wax in packets, while this specific behavior is not yet documented for C. cubana.
Ceraeochrysa cinctaCongeneric found in similar agroecosystems of Southeast Brazil; both show high genetic diversity and lack strong structure in agricultural environments.
Chrysoperla externaSympatric green lacewing also used in ; both species have been studied for survival and behavioral avoidance responses.

More Details

Genetic diversity

in Southeast Brazil show high genetic diversity with no strong genetic structure, indicating broad sharing of genetic diversity among crops and localities. This pattern suggests high , potentially driven by natural or anthropogenic exchange of seedlings among crops.

Associative learning

First documented case of associative learning in lacewings, where larvae can learn to associate volatiles with food presence or absence and subsequently use this information during foraging.