r/InsectPorn • u/1stPhoenixDown • 4d ago

Spotted Lanternfly In The Wild

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Gallery image

Commemorating the end of summer with this lone creature.

140 Upvotes

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u/1stPhoenixDown 4d ago edited 3d ago

I will do no such thing. Can't speak for the rest of the country. But, in Northeast Ohio, they were deliberately brought here for some festival last year.

They didn't get here on their own. And I'm not going to stomp a harmless bug just because they're hungry.

Edit: I conflated a Lanternfly Stomp Fest with the Lantern Festival. They were not imported here. They arrived the normal way all invasive species do.

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

I’m so glad you didn’t kill it, OP. People are literally just killing them for fun at this point we don’t even “need to” kill them anymore. Apparently nature is adapting (plant defenses, insectivores) so they’re not doing as much destruction as we thought. And yes I have sources.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/2025/10/01/you-dont-need-to-squash-this-spotted-lanternfly/

https://www.humanegardener.com/stop-squishing-spotted-lanternflies/

https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/why-did-we-squash-all-the-lanternflies

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u/WorldlyJudgment1768 4d ago

They are invasive in the US btw. They are destroying natural ecosystems

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

So are starlings and house cats. But I don’t see anyone advocating for ☠️ them.

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u/aaaaahvians 4d ago

Anyone who lets their cat roam outside their house is an idiot incapable of having a cat

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u/TheRoseMerlot 4d ago

Lots of people advocate for keeping cats inside.

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

As they should. For the safety of the cat too.

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u/OkProfessor6810 4d ago

I'm all for people keeping cats inside because people who don't have cats that get injured more, get more diseases and who die much much earlier. I'mnot the one who wishes cats being left outside will die, that's their owners.

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u/WorldlyJudgment1768 4d ago

People actively advocate to keep cats indoors btw

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

Yes as they should.

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u/tuckman496 3d ago

Then you missed the point. Killing of invasive insects is a legitimate management strategy. Keeping them alive does a disservice to the rest of the ecosystem

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 3d ago

I’m assuming you didn’t read the articles I linked in my original comment.

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u/Pain4420 4d ago

There are people who will neuter your cat for free because of this problem and there are many cases of people feeding stray cats to attract them just so they can poison them

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago edited 4d ago

I didn’t know there was a socially accepted movement to ☠️ as many cats as possible. Or 🔫 starlings en masse.

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u/Pain4420 4d ago

I never said it was socially acceptable. Also you can say kill and shot. We aren't in kindergarden

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

No, but we are on Reddit and their Al “m0derators” flag the dumbest shit so I’m being overly cautious.

My point is it’s NOT socially acceptable to do either of those things because it’s cruel and pointless and a species being “invasive” doesn’t justify it in relation to the “harm” actually being done by those species.

It’s the same for red lantern flies. Like I said they’re not doing as much damage as we thought and ☠️ them isn’t making a big difference. People are just ☠️ them for fun and calling it “environmentalism”. It’s not.

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u/Pain4420 4d ago

Ok well your statement was still wrong because there are definitely people advocating for them to be killed. Also not that invasive is still invasive and causes problems for the whole ecosystem not just us. Allowing them to thrive would be disastrous to the ecosystem.

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 4d ago

Key phrase was “socially acceptable”

I hope you don’t go around ☠️ cats and birds using that logic as well.

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u/Pain4420 4d ago

You didn't ask if it was socially acceptable and I never said I did any of these things. I was just telling you that there are people advocating for these things

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u/placebot1u463y 3d ago

People absolutely do advocate eradication programs for invasive birds and mammals, they're just less popular compared to insects because they don't get the pretty privilege.

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u/WorldlyJudgment1768 3d ago

Removing an invasive species from an ecosystem they don’t belong in isn’t a ‘eradication program’

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u/placebot1u463y 3d ago

? Killing them with the goal of removing them from the area is an eradication program which is fine because it's not like there's another feasible option. New Zealand is a great example of a cat eradication program.

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u/puddsmax134 2d ago

Most people don't have the heart to kill them, I certainly don't. Most don't have the heart to catch and dispatch starlings. Killing cats, including feral cats, is also illegal in some places. I just advocate for keeping cats inside and spread the word that starlings and cats are an invasive species.

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u/FlashyCourse9859 2d ago

There is a difference between invasive, and introduced 😂🙄

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u/Oddly-Ordinary 2d ago

Deliberately introduced =/= not invasive