Anyone know what this bug is?

Submitted by kdternal t3_yapzwd in newjersey

Moved here in June and new to the area. In central jersey (yes central), don't like the giants or the eagles yet, wondering what this is? There's a bunch around the house and not sure if I should do anything about it

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6dee9 t1_itc794a wrote

Idk but it looks ready for Halloween

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kennedyBeach t1_itclfgg wrote

It's an elder box bug. They are completely harmless and native to the area. They actually live on elderbox trees, so if you see what it means there's an elder box tree nearby. They like the sunlight and they congregate on the sunny side of your house, but they do not destroy anything. They are friendly little Folks

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Hannibam86 t1_itcrfqk wrote

I believe the scientific name is the Cheatingis myexgirlfriendes

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ptowndavid t1_itcs6bi wrote

Lucky for you the Jets have plenty of room on the disappoint bandwagon.

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aWormhatForVermhat t1_itcuujg wrote

Box elder bug! My mom used to send me out to kill them with a spray bottle of soap and water 🤷🏻‍♀️

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MerlinBrando t1_itd24s1 wrote

theyre harmless but a nuisance. they sometimes swarm. They used to congregate on my front porch in the thousands and found it easy to get inside of my very old house.

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whatsasimba t1_itd4osy wrote

Replying to kennedyBeach (#179,694)

They used to live under the wood shingles in the house I rented. When the weather was cold, you never saw one. When the sun would heat that side. They'd all come out sunning themselves. Totally chill bug friends.

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IsiahTheGreat5 t1_itd76lq wrote

Aren’t these the ones we have to kill ?

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mklinger23 t1_itdbu08 wrote

For future reference, r/whatisthisbug is pretty helpful

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PhatRam32 t1_itdgj6w wrote

Elder Box Bug or Kamala Bug

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craywolf t1_itdgxc5 wrote

Replying to beeps-n-boops (#181,037)

You use Old Reddit don't you?

New Reddit lets you caption image uploads. The captions don't show up on Old.

Edit: Actually seems like it's something with RES + Old Reddit? I see it in another profile, not sure what the difference is. But anyway I'm guessing it's the same for you.

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Mdh74266 t1_itdkras wrote

That bug doesn’t exist…just like central jersey

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leraygun t1_itds1t6 wrote

How do we arm and train them to fight the spotted lanternflies?

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fluffybabypuppies t1_itdxv5l wrote

Download the iNaturalist Seek app for future plant/bug/animal ID! It’s super helpful for questions like this.

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free2571 t1_ite04p1 wrote

Box elder beetle. nearly impossible to kill with sprays. Hornet spray works, but you have to get it directly on them. Fought a losing battle with them on my house for 30 years.

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CountryBlk t1_ite7pay wrote

Kill it. Raid won’t work.

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njmj t1_itekfuu wrote

Replying to 6dee9 (#178,620)

Seriously, we've had these at our house for years and called them Halloween bugs! They're always around at this time of year.

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fartachoke t1_iteuv8h wrote

Replying to kennedyBeach (#179,694)

I’m happy I know this now, and sad that I smooshed one today. ☹️ He was on my trash can lid and I assumed he was invasive like the lantern flies and the stink bugs because I have never seen one in all my forty years in NY.

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b4ngl4d3sh t1_iteyqhe wrote

Saw a blue tinged one this spring! Always wondered what he was.

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beeps-n-boops t1_itf8rgx wrote

Replying to ptowndavid (#181,426)

As someone else mentioned, I'm not seeing that as apparently it was posted using a feature that Old Reddit doesn't support. (I really dislike New Reddit and don't plan to use it until they turn off Old Reddit.)

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PRSG12 t1_itfb2jj wrote

its a lvl 99 lantern fly actually, you cant kill it if you tried, it has maximum defense

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thisoneagain t1_itgf53g wrote

I can't properly express the joy that just came into my heart to finally see this question in this sub WITHOUT a spotted lantern fly pic attached.

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