hi weevil gang,

we've been seeing a huge uptick in posts recently with pictures of spotted lanternfly nymphs. these often end up with comments that are a) unnecessarily hateful towards an insect that has the misfortune of being invasive and heavily destructive or b) people calling each other fascist animal abusers for killing them. so, i'd like to clear a few things up (i am a trained entomologist)

1) The image above is a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). THESE ARE NOT WEEVILS. They are in the family Fulgoridae in the order Hemiptera.

2) Spotted lanternflies are native to areas of China and other regions of eastern Asia. They are invasive in North America and interfere with our native ecosystems and agricultural industries by damaging plants and spreading sooty molds. they have recently been reported on the west coast, so if you are located in Oregon, California, Washington, etc. and find one, please report it to your local county extension office.

3) In settings such as gardens and homes, squishing or freezing will kill them and is recommended. Freezing and quickly crushing are both considered humane ways to euthanize an insect.

Here are links to various cooperative extension websites from U.S. universities if you would like to learn more:

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-resources

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spotted-lanternfly-home-gardens/

https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/integrated-pest-management/insects-2/spotted-lanternfly-resource-page/

https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/whats-bugging-you/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly-management

in the future, I will be locking posts with spotted lanternflies when i see them and redirecting to this post in a comment. stay booted! stay snooted!

- buprestibae

(not my picture btw XD)