Crypts are a type of lady beetle and will shift to other soft-bodied insects when their primary prey population is low. This enables crypts to establish for longer periods in the greenhouse and provides some additional control. Adult crypts will fly away when they run out of food, but in a screened greenhouse they often eliminate the pest population before they starve to death. I usually get a second adult population of the crypts with each release before they run out of food. Scale Lacewings work to keep scale populations under control.
Immature lacewings can reach scale insects in places that crypts miss.
The difference in the life stages of lacewings and crypts when released makes it less likely that they will eat each other, but they will when other food runs out. Scale insects are usually found on the undersides of leaves along the veins, but they can be found on the stems of various stem succulents, including cacti. There are two major groups of scale insects. The soft scales exude honeydew and are often used for food by ants. Ants will move them back into the greenhouses so, as with the mealybug, ant control is important in controlling this pest.