#lycormadelicatula — Public Fediverse posts

Yellowjackets eating a spotted lantern fly. It was dead before they got to it. Filmed 9/5/2025 Bethel Connecticut - yes, you may absolutely download & repost this elsewhere!
(this was one I smashed & they came in to scavenge) #LycormaDelicatula #SpottedLanternFly #Yellowjacket #VespulaMaculifrons #InvasiveSpecies #Insects

Seem to have trained yellowjackets that spotted lantern flies are food!

neighbor K & I have been smashing lantern flies on the tree of heaven at next door gas station whenever we're on break. which has attracted yellow jackets to scavenge the corpses. It took them a few days to recognize them as edible, but now there's loads of them scavenging in area.

This morning saw one going after a live one! Did a bunch of exploratory bites but gave up in favor of joining other yellowjackets in pulling apart dead ones.

No issues with the yellowjackets bothering me or K while we're hunting lantern flies. They're just waiting for us to drop 'em and then swoop in. So just like other scavengers, just on a vastly different size scale than say ravens and wolves. We're kaiju sized to the yellowjackets.

#LycormaDelicatula #SpottedLanternFly #Yellowjacket #VespulaMaculifrons #InvasiveSpecies #Insects

Menacing upward trend alert! ⚠️ Day 2 of #30DayChartChallenge focuses on "slope," and #spottedlanternfly observations on #iNaturalist paint a concerning picture. This #invasivespecies (#Lycormadelicatula), highlighted in my #Rstats infographic (back to Python tomorrow 🐍), poses a threat to our trees. Join #citizenscientists and report any sightings to help track this pest! #HitchHikerBug #DataViz #Ecology