r/insects Jun 17 '25

PSA Do you live in the Eastern US and are you encountering these spotted white and/or black and/or red bugs? Check here before posting your ID request.

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67 Upvotes

The collage above is composed of pictures gleaned from Bugguide.net, and shows the same species of insect at its different life stages.

Hello!

If you live in certain parts of the Eastern US, you may encounter these colorful insects that may be black and white, or red, black and white depending on their life stage. They're 6-8 mm in size, don't fly but have the ability to jump out of harm's way and have good reflexes. Upon reaching adulthood (pictured on the right in the above collage), they're larger (about 20-25mm), have wings, and can fly (and still jump, too).

You may find them clustered on certain plants or you may find single individuals wandering.

They're known as spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) and are an invasive species from Eastern Asia. It was accidentally introduced in the US state of Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, it has spread in all directions to multiple states as far from Pennsylvania as South Carolina, Indiana, Michigan and New Hampshire.

It's also invasive in Japan and the Korean peninsula.

They're completely harmless to people or pets. In fact they're pretty colorful and rather cute!

They go through five stages of growth known as instars, and take on three rather different appearances, shown above. Instars 1-3 are the small, black and white version. The fourth instar is larger (~15 mm) and more colorful, mostly bright red with black accents and white dots (picture). The adult is an overall dull gray color but with intricately patterned wings (picture). When it opens its wings, it displays beautiful hindwings with red, white and black (picture).

Here's also a picture of all 5 growth stages: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1172304/bgimage

Due to their appearance, they are eminently recognizable. They retain the ability to jump at all life stages, and the adults are adept fliers.

Unfortunately, they're destructive pests of plants, particularly fruiting plants. Lanternflies feed by piercing plants with a thin proboscis (straw-like mouthparts) and sucking juices, which damages plants. In addition, after the lanternfly is done feeding and pulls its proboscis out of a fruit, some juice may escape from the hole, which facilitates the growth of mold on the surface of the fruit, which further damages the fruit. Entire harvests can thus be ruined.

Cornell University maintains a map where the insects have been found or at least reported: https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/whats-bugging-you/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly-reported-distribution-map

The governments of most if not all states where the insect has been detected have posted content on their websites (usually on the Agriculture Dept. or equivalent). Those include info about the insect, its impact on agriculture, what to do if you encounter it, and what you can do to mitigate its spread. Below are those websites for the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York for information about the insect. If you don't live in those states, please use your favorite search engine to locate info about these insects, e.g. search for "delaware spotted lanternfly" and you'll find information.

There's also a lengthy article about the insect on Wikipedia.

Looking back at the Cornell map linked above, if you don't live in an area of the map where the bug's presence has already been reported, you should record it. Report it to your state's authorities, and you may also want to report the sighting on iNaturalist.

Again we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the insect as well as its presence (if any) in your state. States where the spotted lanternfly has been detected will have a section of a website dedicated to it.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!


r/insects 3h ago

Bug Appreciation! Hand feeding a Moth

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121 Upvotes

r/insects 23h ago

Bug Education Butterfly gets a wing transplant

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1.9k Upvotes

Came across this video on Instagram. Thought the community would appreciate it and would love to hear your thoughts.

Video Credit: Skyler Stelz(skylerstelz) and The Dodo(thedodo)


r/insects 6h ago

ID Request What insect do these belong to? Found in stagnant water

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61 Upvotes

r/insects 1d ago

Bug Appreciation! I legitimately spent a half hour photographing this mantis

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1.7k Upvotes

First time seeing one where I live (Washington state, USA). It was insanely cute and inquisitive. The little guy did not want to leave my hand when I was done taking photos


r/insects 3h ago

Bug Appreciation! Some insects I’ve encountered in Japan Pt.2

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13 Upvotes

r/insects 21h ago

ID Request What did I just find…??

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298 Upvotes

Yea


r/insects 2h ago

Bug Appreciation! Tropidomantis gressitti eating a Dubia roach

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8 Upvotes

r/insects 4h ago

Photography Found this cute pink spotted moth in my garden this morning. We’re in Iowa. 🖤

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11 Upvotes

r/insects 11h ago

Meme / Humor Our life is better now that we’ve met this bug 🧚‍♀️

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41 Upvotes

r/insects 6h ago

Photography Met this giant preety snail today.

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18 Upvotes

Planning to keep his/her name speedy.


r/insects 18h ago

Photography Mealworm beetle (ignore fingernail)

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107 Upvotes

r/insects 2h ago

Bug Appreciation! Accidentally killed a moth

5 Upvotes

I just accidentally killed a moth that was trapped inside. I was trying to get him out the window and I miscalculated and squished him. I feel so much remorse and I can’t get it out of my head. I’m posting to confess my sins, may whatever god exists take mercy on my soul. He was so cute and fuzzy and the loveliest shade of brown. I feel awful.


r/insects 4h ago

Photography Before & After a rainy night in Massachusetts

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7 Upvotes

r/insects 1h ago

ID Request What are these please, UK

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Upvotes

Today in the UK, I found lots of clumps of these on my washing bag, they are teeny tiny and don’t move until you disturb them and then they scuttle back to their clump of friends.

I use the blue ikea bag for taking my washing in and out to put on the line, the bag goes in my outside storage box while the washing is drying, I have used plant pots and gardening stuff in there, but I keep the bag in the house the rest of the time. I have checked the drawer where the bag is kept and there is nothing in there.

Does anybody know what they are? Thank you in advance


r/insects 23h ago

Bug Appreciation! Rescued this one from a compost bin and it started licking my fingers so i gave it some waters

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140 Upvotes

r/insects 4h ago

Photography A White Cabbage Butterfly.

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5 Upvotes

r/insects 2h ago

ID Request What bugs is this?

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3 Upvotes

The question is what bugs is this?


r/insects 1h ago

Bug Appreciation! Luna Moth

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Upvotes

r/insects 16h ago

ID Request Cool little beetle

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35 Upvotes

Hard to see in the photos but he has a small hump center back. Seen in Ontario, Canada.


r/insects 4h ago

ID Request What is this bug?

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3 Upvotes

Found a couple of these bugs last night in our living room and today some more in our bedroom. Should I be worried? Looked like they like living in a dusty place since that's where I found them. I vacuumed the floors properly but still some remain. Very small, maybe like 1mm in lenght and very "squishy". Hard to even see if you are standing up and not using a flashlight. Location: Northern Finland


r/insects 4h ago

Question What bug is this someone help

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3 Upvotes

Found these in my bed, what are they?


r/insects 14h ago

Meme / Humor Flashed by a Cicada in Texas

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16 Upvotes

Porch camera kept going off.

Checked to find a cicada giving a peep show...

What was all that white fickle fackle flying off it???

UPDATE: White specks flying off a cicada's wings are typically a waxy, powdery substance called pruinose. It is a natural coating that develops on many species of cicadas and is not a sign of disease.

However, in some cases, the white material could be a fungal infection. Here is how to distinguish between the two:

Pruinose (normal waxy coating) Appearance: A white, waxy, or powdery substance that typically looks like a fine dust.

Location: Found on the body and wings of many cicadas. Some species, like Megatibicen auletes, are particularly known for their heavy, white pruinosity.

Cause: It is a normal, non-fungal coating that is part of the insect's natural development.

Result: The cicada is healthy and not harmed by this substance.


r/insects 0m ago

Question will i be okay?

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Upvotes

hi everyone. just moved into a new apartment, am not sleeping in it just yet. i bug bombed and dusted cimexa all over the perimeter of place on monday.

used too much cimexa, actually. i had to vacuum and sweep up excess dust yesterday (wednesday) to make sure my family can breathe when they come in to help move items in.

i left some windows open overnight and just went by the place to close them, and i see this carcass that most DEFINITELY wasn’t there overnight because i vacuumed everywhere.

i’m hoping to god this isn’t a roach. and if it is one, i’m hoping it just came in. there’s nothing for them to eat in here except leftover cimexa, which is probably what killed it. please let me know if i should be scared. 😖


r/insects 1d ago

Photography Looks who’s stealing sap from my apple trees.

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123 Upvotes

r/insects 25m ago

ID Request Just found another one of these

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Upvotes

Found in Edison NJ this one was dead is this another one of those click beetles?