Last week I found two things I couldn’t identify and it turns out that they’re related. I’ve seen adult lacewings many times and always paused to admire their intricately patterned, delicate wings, the way their subtle colouring contrasts with their metallic eyes, and their hunger for aphids (they are used for biological pest control).

Last week, for the first time, I found some of their eggs, which, amazingly, dangle from the undersides of leaves on individual short silk strings. And, on a different day, under another leaf, I found what I initially thought was a hoverfly larva but later discovered was a lacewing larva. What intriguing creatures they are!