''Chrysopa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of green lacewings in the

neuropteran The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in t ...

family

Chrysopidae Green lacewings are insects in the large family Chrysopidae of the order Neuroptera. There are about 85 genera and (differing between sources) 1,300–2,000 species in this widespread group. Members of the genera ''Chrysopa'' and ''Chrysoperla'' ...

. Members of this genus and the genus ''

Chrysoperla ''Chrysoperla'' is a genus of common green lacewings in the neuropteran family Chrysopidae. Therein they belong to the Chrysopini, the largest tribe (biology), tribe of subfamily Chrysopinae. Their larvae are Predation, predatory and feed on aphid ...

'' are common in much of North America, Europe and Asia. They share similar characteristics and some species have been moved from one genus to the other and back again. Their larvae are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

and feed on

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A ...

s and members of this genus have been used in

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

William Elford Leach William Elford Leach FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist. Life and work Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a medical appren ...

first described this genus in 1815 in Brewster's ''

Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edin ...

''.

Albert Koebele Albert Koebele (28 February 1853 - 28 December 1924) was an economic entomologist and a pioneer in the use of biological controls to manage insect pests. Early career Koebele was born in Waldkirch, Germany, in 1853. There are no details about ...

introduced species of Chrysopa to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in the 1890s, as a method to combat

s, however no ''Chrysopa'' species were able to establish.

Species

References

External links

* * Chrysopidae Insects used as insect pest control agents Neuroptera genera {{Neuroptera-stub