Large Square-headed Wasp vs Elegant Brown Lacewing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Large Square-headed Wasp Elegant Brown Lacewing
Scientific Name Ectemnius cephalotes Sympherobius elegans
Order Hymenoptera Neuroptera
Family Crabronidae Hemerobiidae
Size 12-18 mm 5-8 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Orchards
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Europe Europe, North Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Large Square-headed Wasp

A large solitary wasp that nests in dead wood and provisions its nest with captured flies. Has a distinctively large, square-shaped head. Common in gardens and woodland.

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Did You Know?

Nests in old beetle holes in dead wood, stocking each cell with paralyzed flies for its developing larvae.

Elegant Brown Lacewing

A tiny, delicate brown lacewing found in bark crevices of broadleaved trees. One of the smallest hemerobiid species in Europe.

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Did You Know?

At barely 5 mm wingspan, it is small enough to hunt insects living inside bark fissures.