I was sitting on my back patio over the weekend when I noticed a little ball of dust/dirt moving in a very deliberate way, the way dust ought not to move. I blew on the little ball, and it stopped moving, then picked up in the same direction again. Intrigued, I assumed it was a bug that looks like a dust ball (since we have stick bugs, and leaf bugs, and I’m sure others). I looked online, and after a bit of searching, I learned that it’s the larva of a Lacewing fly.
The very next day, I noticed another dust ball walking around outside our front door. I grabbed my phone to zoom in and snap a couple pictures, and sure enough, once you zoom in, you can see the larva. What’s even more disgusting is, it doesn’t naturally look like dust. It’s carrying the carcasses of other dead bugs on it’s back. They have barbs on their back that collect all manner of things for camouflage, including dust, dirt, and dead bug carcasses.
