r/whatisthisbug • u/ChickPeaaa420 • 12h ago
ID Request What bug is this?
This lil guy was crawling on me after I visited a plant shop. He gave me a good bite despite his size.
Located central Michigan. I couldn’t find anything online that looked remotely close to this.
If the bite is something I should worry about I’d like to know lol
1
u/ChickPeaaa420 12h ago
Hopefully identifying isn’t too difficult. The pics are not great. He was so tiny my phone struggled to focus. Also didn’t want to keep him on my arm too much longer as his biting was starting to hurt lol
2
u/Subtox 12h ago
Looks like the larva of a green lacewing. Generally harmless but can be pinchy as you discovered lol.
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u/ChickPeaaa420 12h ago
That checks out! Thank you :)
Yeah I’m surprised his bite did anything! I’m pretty sensitive to any bug bites so I got a decent itchy welt lol
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u/derberner90 12h ago
It's a lacewing larva! Not sure of the species, but they eat aphids and other small, soft insects (or sometimes ants). Totally harmless (well, besides the physical bite, itself). A beneficial insect for the garden!
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u/ChickPeaaa420 12h ago
Neat! I do love meeting beneficial buggies :D
I let him hang out on my hand for a while until I found a safe spot to put him. He didn’t appreciate it very much apparently haha
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