Say Hello to the little Snakefly!

Yesterday after returning home from bouldering I was in the yard talking to the family when all of a sudden this Snakefly crashes into my arm. I've seen these insects around before but now that I have my library of guide books, it was FAR easier to identify. It wandered around on my hand and arm before flying off into the woods.

Both larvae and adults are predatory, though they are capable of catching and killing only small and weak prey. Snakefly larvae feed on eggs and larvae of various insects, as well as adults of minute arthropods (e.g. mites, springtails, barklice, and homopterans). Adults typically prefer aphids but may eat a wide variety of arthropods. Adults take efforts to clean themselves after feeding. Females have been observed to "have a curious habit of frequently wagging their ovipositor during the process of eating, as though expressing satisfaction with the food." [pg. 104, Carpenter, 1936]

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The Snakefly is another beneficial insect that I am unable to find for sale. This is 2 now that I would like to start raising, the Snakefly and the American Hoverfly. They are related to the lacewing which is a voracious predator of aphids, so having an army of Snakeflies would be super handy for my produce and plants. I presume that their main predator would be birds. While reading I did find this information regarding their life cycle.

The egg stage lasts from a few days up to 3 weeks.
The larval period lasts at least one year, and in most species two or three years. Under experimental conditions, some individuals of some species have had larval periods of up to six years. The number of larval instars is not fixed, it varies around 10–11, but may reach 15 or even more.
The prepupal stage is always a short period of a few days duration only.
Pupation (usually) takes place in spring, and lasts from a few days up to about 3 weeks.

^Source

The above seems to present a slight issue if one wants to raise the Snakefly given that the larval stage can last 2 to 3 years. This would require a large amount of organization and long term storage in order to raise them. Not that it couldn't be done, just that it requires planning.

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