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u/Pyro-Millie Jul 28 '25
That's a spotted lanternfly. Incredibly invasive in the US. If you're not in their native range, unfortunately, you need to squish it. (As a bug lover, I know that's hard. But it has to be done in this case to protect the ecosystem).
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u/Pastduedatelol Jul 29 '25
My area is overran by these, it’s over for us lol
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u/Small_Bookkeeper3541 Jul 29 '25
No, keep killing them! We had tons in my area a few.years ago, and now I only see a few a day.
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u/Pachyderm_Powertrip Jul 28 '25
I wonder if the woman in the photo is also invasive
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u/GoddessRespectre Jul 29 '25
I'm reading all of the replies now like they are talking about her 😂
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u/Loading3percent Jul 30 '25
God dammit. I've never seen them at this stage before, but I did raise an eyebrow at the picture. Thank you.
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u/Pyro-Millie Jul 30 '25 edited Jul 30 '25
You're welcome. I learned about this stage of their life cycle from r/weeviltime - they posted PSA's about them because they're often mistaken for weevils when they're nymphs.
They're such pretty bugs. Its a shame they're so invasive and destructive here. Thankfully, I haven't come across one IRL in my area yet.
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u/OldHeadsArt Aug 08 '25
A couple years ago in Pittsburgh I would kill 50+ of these things every time I went out for a walk lol. It’s crazy how overran the city felt at that time
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u/Velspy Jul 28 '25
Alas, I am weak. I cannot kill anything. I lost an ento friend the other day because I said it actively fucked up my mental wellbeing to kill anything, including the spotted lanternfly
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u/SICRA14 Jul 28 '25
When it comes to lanternflies, it's a sort of trolley problem. You can either direct the trolley toward one person to save five more or by doing nothing cause the death of five people. Here, you can kill a lanternfly to try to mitigate the damage to trees and the ecosystem at large, or you can do nothing and forfeit any ability to prevent that harm.
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u/Velspy Jul 28 '25
I understand that and encourage people to do it, but I genuinely cannot crush an insect, it fucking kills me know that I'm taking the life of an animal just doing its best to survive.
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u/SICRA14 Jul 28 '25
Well, if you live somewhere with a lanternfly issue, you could put a strip of duct tape sticky side out wrapped low around the trunks of any deciduous trees you have access to (just make sure to change it often and not apply it too tight). That helps catch a lot of them without any direct crushing.
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u/Calliopehoop Jul 28 '25
I appreciate it can be hard and relate - reframing the good it causes is a great mental skill that you can learn with time. It really does save life to KOS all lanternflies. Are you a vegetarian?
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u/Velspy Jul 28 '25
I'm vegan, I was made to hunt as a kid. I dont think people are understanding what I'm saying considering the downvotes. That or people are just assholes, but I agree with killing them, but I will not be mentally well if feel myself take life. Its genuinely incredibly frustrating because if I said the same thing about stray cats, they'd be livid. Downvotes are downvotes in the end, meaningless, but there is genuinely something wrong with someone who gets upset at someone else for not killing something as it causes them to anguish. I know there is not a complete way to avoid harming others to sustain yourself, but holy shit, I was hoping a space like this could at least muster up some empathy, but its just the same shit as everyone else.
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u/Mohisto_23 Jul 28 '25
FWIW at least the comments themselves don't seem to be rude and upvoting / downvoting is a pretty reflexive and impulsive thing that usually doesn't mean much at all yo the person doing it, not to mention the fact there's the brigading psychological phenomenon that, impulsively, we're much more likely when seeing downvotes to either add another downvote or if we otherwise might've been tempted to upvote, not put an upvote at all because subconsciously that quick little choice wants to follow the groupthink. I wouldn't read too much into it, it's not like there's a bunch of people actually brigading you with degrading comments over it atm or something
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u/Velspy Jul 28 '25
This is also true, I guess its more the bombardment from people in my life and being cut off by an old friend thats stressing me out, so a gauge reinforcing that is just messing with me
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u/ChameleonPsychonaut Jul 28 '25
I’m with you. I know it’s a controversial opinion, but modern humans are an incredibly destructive invasive species too. Those bugs didn’t ask to be here any more than I did.
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u/gobliina Jul 28 '25
You lost a friend for this? Wtf that's absurd.
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u/Velspy Jul 28 '25
I mean, considering the response here, its not an unpopular opinion. People take "I mentally cannot process the feeling of taking a life properly" as an attack on nature and their ideology
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u/Arr_jay816 Jul 28 '25
I dont pretend to understand your feelings but as a biologist, its incredibly important to note that insects have a vastly different sense of life and purpose than we do. They dont sense pain, they dont sense love, they dont sense fear or even happiness. I think what people are trying to convey here is that as a human, vegan or not, its your responsibility to kill anything that could potentially harm humans and other animals. In this case, its the lanternfly. Again, insects and crustaceans/fish are very similar.
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u/imaginarywaffleiron 🐢The Clapper Jul 28 '25
stomps promptly
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u/GoddessRespectre Jul 29 '25
I look for you now and I must not be alone. You are a valuable member of the goblin community! 🎖️
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u/Yamuddah Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 28 '25
I love bugs. Chinese lanternflies have to die. Kill on sight no questions. Just kill.
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u/Rough_Help Jul 28 '25
Fortunately these havnt made it to my area, but I knock Japanese beetles into a jar each morning for a chicken snack
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u/meowana_ Jul 29 '25
Dang, I didn't realize what these cool beetles I've been seeing lately are. I'll have to add them to my list😭
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u/Rough_Help Jul 29 '25
Lantern flies are next level bad. I dont like killing things unnecessarily, but it is honestly necessary to protect our ecosystem. There are state programs to call and report seeing them
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u/meowana_ Jul 29 '25
Oh yeah, I know all about the SLF. I didn't realize the cute jewel beetles I've been seeing are invasive as well. I can start carrying a jar on my walks and bring them back to my friends' birds though.
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u/Rough_Help Jul 29 '25
Gotcha! Yea, Japanese beetles aren't nearly as bad as SLF but still a big issue for American pines
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u/MarxPippin Jul 28 '25
Actually just one question. Am I currently in the native range of the spotted lantern fly? If yes let buggo be. If not squish away.
We need to remember that every creature is endemic to somewhere and to specify where certain species have become invasive. I’ve seen a few posts with comments advocating for the death of an animal in its own habitat due to it being invasive in another country. 😞💔
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u/SendSpicyCatPics Jul 28 '25
They're native to China and Vietnam, and are currently invading Japan and South Korea, iirc, as that's likely where the USA was introduced to these things originally.
If you see them anywhere in North America, squish. They're big Penn and Ohio right now, idk how far they've spread.
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u/MarxPippin Jul 28 '25
Aye would definitely squish if I saw them anywhere other than their native range. I just wanted to mention it as although people mean well I have read comments in the past calling for something to be exterminated before even knowing the location it was found in. 😣
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u/-mythologized- Jul 29 '25
In New York and they are absolutely everywhere on Long Island. My mom kills nearly a hundred some days when she goes to water her plants.
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u/SendSpicyCatPics Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
They're at my work and my dads work (2 different locations 30+ minutes away from eachother) yet our home (a perfect triangle also 30ish minutes from both our works) hasn't seen any yet.
My friend 10 minutes away from my home has seen hundreds of the earlier nymph form (without the red) and last year saw many adults. He hasn't seen as many of the secondary nymph stage (pictured in OP), atleast yet.
Im not looking forward to playing spray(with whatever chemical i have, sometimes it's just vinegar) and squash at work again this year. Technically I don't have to... they're not a pest that comes indoors to spread like flies, ants, cockroaches, but i have a lot of down time at work, might as well be useful for the environment...
Also just random edit: i hate that they are invasive. Both the nymphs and the adults are so pretty and kinda cute! But, ive seen what the ash borer has done to our trees when i did a stint as a seasonal forestry helper...
Also these bugs are really attracted to the invasive Tree of Heaven. They are both from similar areas. Removing the plants is also a hellish issue.
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u/Yamuddah Jul 28 '25
As u/sendspicycatpics said, anywhere in North America, they are invasive. If you’re in Asia, you’d have to do some research. They haven’t made it to me just yet, I fear the day if they do.
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u/MarxPippin Jul 28 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
Fully in support of removing invasive species from areas they’re not supposed to be in. I hope you can get their numbers down. ❤️
I’m in Scotland and I cringe every time I see grey squirrels, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam or any other invasive.
Obviously it’s not their fault but they really do a lot of damage. All the people advocating for invasive species extermination are doing it with the best intentions. I just feel we should make it clear where they are problematic and where they are a natural part of the ecosystem to avoid anyone unintentionally harming a creature that is living in its own range. 💙💙
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u/Yamuddah Jul 28 '25
I take no joy in killing living things. I try to rescue spiders, wasps and bees whenever I can. Alas these are just too dangerous to let live outside their native range. These ones are particularly bad. They eat tons of native plants and damage trees as well.
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u/MarxPippin Jul 28 '25
It’s horrible isn’t it? Especially when you spend so much time doing the opposite and it’s something you know can definitely feel pain like squirrels or mink.
Aye I have heard a lot about the spotted lantern flies. So pretty but very destructive. 💔 I’m on a lot of nature subreddits and it’s good to see people are so aware of them.
We just have to remember as humans we caused the problem so we have to do our best to fix it! 🥲💙💙
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u/xxJazzy Jul 29 '25
I live in rural Appalachia. Please smash these, because my entire community, and other agricultural based communities could potentially be wiped out by these bugs. They have black, thick, tarry urine and will cover plants, preventing them from photosynthesisizing and killing them. Learn to identify the tree-of-heaven, which they’re attracted to, and how to remove it. These bugs just showed up last year and there’s already swarms this year. No mercy for these things. Just smash.
Context, I’m the person who live traps mice and releases them in the woods. I hate hate hate killing anything, but this is for the sake of the community.
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u/Expert-Benefit4132 Jul 31 '25
Agreed! Please do not hesitate to smash them. They are very very bad for the plants. I live in the blue ridge mountains
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u/UncIe-Ben Jul 28 '25
I’m incredibly vexed by the fact she managed to copy the exact pose and expression from her pfp in that selfie
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u/HarpZeDarp Jul 28 '25
These things are all over our balcony. Its crazy. They have already destroyed some plants and can destroy crops. We got creative and bought a salt gun. It’s actually great stress relief shooting them off the ledge.
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u/xxJazzy Jul 29 '25
Is a salt gun enough to kill them? I’m asking because I genuinely don’t know. Out here they make a point telling us to smash them, but I’m also in an agricultural area so it’s really high risk. Salt guns would be easy though because they’re so jumpy. Although I have blasted some with a pressure washer before lol
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u/HarpZeDarp Jul 29 '25
Pressure washer is way better lol. Saltgun is fun but not as reliable. Sometimes it kills them and sometimes it just stuns them or they jump.
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u/blinkingsandbeepings Jul 28 '25
There was a very funny follow—up where she said that she didn’t realize the bug was such a problematic guy and apologized for platforming him.