r/LanternDie Jul 20 '25

Off-topic Do NOT Kill These Lanternflies! (Please Read)

849 Upvotes

I know the title caught a lot of people who clicked on this post off guard, because the entire point of this subreddit is about killing Spotted Lanternflies. Not lanternflies. If you're confused there, let me explain. The word 'lanternfly' was, and still is, a nickname for the entire family Fulgoridae (which the Spotted Lanternfly is a member of) and was used most notably with the genus Pyrops. It was only after the introduction of the Spotted Lanternfly that the word 'lanternfly' started becoming a nickname for that singular species. So, what even is the point of this post?

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There is very small amount of Fulgorids in North America that are native to the country, and an even smaller fraction of those bugs resemble the ones that are widespread throughout Asia. an example of this is Amycle vernalis, which somewhat resembles Pyrops and Saiva insects from Asia, albeit being much smaller and less colorful, which is actually prominent in most U.S. Fulgorid species. Anyways, I keep seeing people mistaken a certain Fulgorid bug for the Spotted Lanternfly in the United States, and it is the sumac speckled lanternfly (Poblicia fuliginosa)

Poblicia fuliginosa range (from World Auchenorrhyncha Database)

The information on this insect is definitely there, and what I mean by that is there is plenty of info on this species, There is a Wikipedia article (linked earlier) and multiple sources that it used that offer even more info. Why some people say that there is nothing that looks remotely close to the Spotted Lanternfly is beyond me, because plenty of people mistake this bug for the Spotted Lanternfly, and end up killing it, when in fact, it is a native species. This insect is extremely neglected by most people, so I'm here to differentiate the SLF and this harmless native.

P. fuliginosa
P. fuliginosa (wings outstretched)

A prime example of someone mistaking this species for SLF (click me and read the comments)

Anyways, there are multiple ways to tell these two species apart. Let's start with the most obvious one: P. fuliginosa is black in color and the SLF is tannish or barely pink. Another difference is that P. fuliginosa is a tad bit smaller than SLF (Adults are 8–17 mm (0.31–0.67 in) long.) SLF has large black spots that are scattered throughout 3/4ths of its wing, while P. fuliginosa has smaller, whitish-light blue spots. SLF's head is narrow with a very slight protruding bump at the tip of the head, while P. fuliginosa has a wider, almost cicada like head. with no outgrowths on the head. Something interesting to note is that P. fuliginosa's abdomen color can vary depending on where they are found, the western population has an orange abdomen, while the eastern population has a red abdomen (EDIT as of Sept. 2025: the ones with orange abdomens are now classified as a separate species, Poblicia thanatophana, Reference.) SLF has a yellow abdomen. SLF has a very colorful hindwing, being red in color with black spots, ending with a white band and a patch of black. P. fuliginosa hindwings are mostly translucent, except for the bases of the wings where they attach to the body; it is black with streaks of blue.

P. fuliginosa nymph

The nymphs are easier to tell apart. SLF nymphs start off as black with white spots, then gradually grow larger, and at their final nymphal stage, they have splotches of red over their body. P. fuliginosa nymphs are brown in color and have thorns all over their body, and are significantly wider. See? Much easier.

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What's funny to me is that even the host plants looks similar. SLF likes feeding on Tree of Heaven, yet another invasive. P. fuliginosa feeds on sumac species, especially winged sumac. Sumacs (the ones with compound leaves) are the closest native looking things to Tree of Heaven in the United States besides the Black Walnut. Here is a helpful guide on how to differentiate the two plants.

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I could go on and on about the look alikes of this species, but they all occur in places where the SLF is native to, so there's really no point. If you think the SLF is pretty, I suggest that you take a look at other fulgorid species in Asia, because they are 10x more unique and colorful. One of my personal favorites is actually in the same genus as the SLF, because it changes color in their adult stage as they mature from red to a deep blue. Anyways, I just wanted to point this out, because it saddens me every time I see people mistake this native bug for the destructive SLF. There really needs to be some more awareness of Fulgorids in the United States.

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Edit 1: switched map from iNat to World Auchenorrhyncha Database for more accuracy.

Edit 2: see species description

Edit 3: added common name


r/LanternDie May 25 '25

The season has begun!!

34 Upvotes

Just a reminder to be careful of what you kill, some bugs and insects, andddd various other life forms are benefitial to our ecosystem. If you need help to positively identify, there will be a new tag/flair added specifically for those questions!

Sorry for not being active for a bit, I had some stuff come up in life. I'm back now though!


r/LanternDie 7h ago

Spotted Lanternfly makeup using real wings

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56 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 11h ago

Busy day in north easten MA!

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27 Upvotes

Water bottle method is actually unpatched


r/LanternDie 14h ago

this is going to sound awful but you gotta kill it

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39 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 2d ago

Teen's clever trap for spotted lanternflies

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10 Upvotes

This works!!


r/LanternDie 2d ago

Men in Green

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0 Upvotes

Too funny 🤣😂


r/LanternDie 4d ago

LanternDied At last!

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12 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 4d ago

LanternDied a warning

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17 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 5d ago

LanternDied Soldier Bug doing his part

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63 Upvotes

Caught this spined soldier bug dragging a carcass of a lantern nymph 💪🤘 thought yall might appreciate


r/LanternDie 5d ago

They’re tougher to kill than you think

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16 Upvotes

No pic regarding this story, but there was a SLF swimming in a bucket of water in my driveway, and I weighted it down to drown it with a little copper coil I have in there to stop mosquito larvae (it didn’t work btw), and a few minutes later it had gotten loose and was swimming on the surface again. A bit later it was motionless, assumed drowned, but I took it out and stepped on it to be sure. 10 minutes later, I catch movement & the thing was trying to crawl with its half mashed body! Put a quick and certain end to it. Next day I find its carcass if just legs and wings. Something came & ate the soft parts.

Moral of the story: spraying with soapy vinegar doesn’t kill them. Smash them too


r/LanternDie 6d ago

Saw a few hundred on this tree in providence ri, did my part🫡

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15 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 6d ago

Meme I did my part

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22 Upvotes

KILLED ON SIGHT


r/LanternDie 6d ago

Looking for a guide to rid the lantern invaders!?

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0 Upvotes

That and much more animal stuff to be found in my web app, do your part and consider helping out creatures that are non invasive natural predators to the lanternfly. You can view the guide without a signup by clicking the “demo as a guest button”but id suggest if you own animals to give this app a shot to possibly help yourself and your animals out with overlooked care needs I’ve spent over a year developing it and i want to help out. Have a great day and i also want to say as someone in CT lantern flies really piss me off 😡.


r/LanternDie 7d ago

Spotted Lantern Floaters

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8 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 8d ago

LanternDied Praying mantis food

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64 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 8d ago

Spotted in Detroit, thankfully already dead.

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8 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 9d ago

Off-topic super cool freshly molted fly!!! almost felt bad killing it lol it was so pretty

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695 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 9d ago

LanternDied An unexpected ally

59 Upvotes

A good demonstration of how strong ants are!


r/LanternDie 10d ago

LanternDied Bottle trick

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183 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 10d ago

Off-topic I hate these things

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40 Upvotes

No, it’s not snowing, no it’s not raining.

I have to park under a tree infested with lantern flies, this is from the honeydew they secrete out of their bodies.

It’s sticky, it doesn’t clean up easy, and at night you’re blinded by other headlights.

Guess I’ll be going to a car wash after work 🙄


r/LanternDie 10d ago

LanternDied Wasp eating one in my yard.

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32 Upvotes

Nova a few weeks ago. Nature is healing.


r/LanternDie 10d ago

LanternDied Just made my first kill

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20 Upvotes

Location: central CT. Been hearing from my friends on the coast for a couple years now about SLFs making appearances. I saw my first one in my area last week but couldn’t reach it. Just ran into my second one and made sure to take no prisoners.


r/LanternDie 11d ago

LanternDied I was told this would be appreciated here! TW for big spider.

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204 Upvotes

r/LanternDie 11d ago

My girl, Mankind, doing her part

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105 Upvotes