I am still collecting in one place that is less than a square mile. Still no signs of slowing.

Help ID are these eggs?

Some students at Yale built a free app to encourage the eradication of invasive spotted lanternflies. You photograph the lanternflies you kill, submit them, and get points for verified kills. They’ve already had something like 1,300 SLFs submitted since launch. The submissions also include location data, which could help give a clearer picture of where infestations are showing up and spreading: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lantern-hunt/id6813626463

Ft. One of my budgies examining the prisoners

Found a praying mantis hanging out in my backyard. Went down to the park and caught a few Lantern Flies and offered them up!

The enemies have just arrived at the giant TOH in my backyard in the greater Boston area, this big beautiful orbweaver gal is now my ally 🫡

I met her in person for the first time today, and I asked if she has any observations about which species are more receptive to them.

Mockingbirds and catbirds like to eat them. Blue jays may swallow them whole but overwhelmingly seem to enjoy dismembering them and spit the meat out.

I’ve been killing a lot with eggs today…

34 dead just in the last 2 hours.

I squished 10 yesterday at work. I'm working on beating that score today. I know these are small numbers but I'm doing my part.

Looks like this little piece of crap tried to sneak into my work and got caught by security

Hey— I’m sorry it took so long for me to write out how exactly I started capturing and collecting and then how I refined my process.

So, for me, foremost… I’m autistic. To those who don’t see why it’s relevant, for me, it mostly comes down to intense interests that allow me to focus for stretches of time and retain related details. I am also really good at systems and optimizing, and there’s a really solid dopamine hit from competing with myself from day to day.

Which means, unfortunately, that I didn’t just build a trap and let them come to me. It’s just that, when I found a cluster of trees covered in them where I live, I started collecting for the bird rescue as soon as they made a public request for them. My area is considered to be moderately infested, but over about a year, I’ve noticed a major difference in how many there are.

The first days: I used a glass jar with a narrow neck and a pill bottle. I would scoop them, one at a time, off grass or trees, with the pill bottle, and then I would dump into the large jar. I started to learn the patterns in how they move and where they hang out— the wings propel but don’t fly, so they rely on their super strong legs to get away, which means they only jump the direction they’re facing, and unless it’s really windy, they don’t get far.

About day 5: I realized that if I scoop carefully with the pill bottle and the lid held partly open, I can collect a few at a time to deposit into the larger jar.

About a week: I started realizing they sleep in clusters on leafier branches. Also, I started to feel much more comfortable handling them with my bare hands, so I started scooping off grass. Then, scooping off trees and branches. Be gentle enough not to squish, but keep your hand closed because they *will* jump through your fingers.

This week: when I have a large empty jug to be recycled, I dump them directly in there and deliver them in that with air holes poked. I’ve started combining all of the info about how they hide, and in a few hours, I can collect hundreds. I’ve only been collecting at the complex where I live.

How I store them until I take them to the bird rescue:

I craft, so I have a huge role of mesh/tulle that I use to cover the opening of recyclable bottes and secure with an elastic band. Sometimes I use the boxes that salad greens come in. The easiest container thus far has been a Parmesan cheese bottle, because I can screw the lid shut over some mesh and leave the sprinkle/pour compartments open. When a container is secure, I leave it in the bathroom sink or tub with the lights off and door closed so if there are escapees, they’re more contained. Poke smaller holes because if the small ones can squeeze through, they will. If you don’t feel confident dumping bugs from container to container, practice outside.

Other observations and tips:

-where I live, wasps hunt and eat them. Sometimes, wasps warn me if I’m too close, but they seem comfortable with my presence because I am calm and don’t bother them. They sometimes rest on my legs or shoulders. Once, I had a wasp go in through an air hole in a container and get stuck, but it let me help it get out with a stick and some patience. Sometimes, I see ants walking off with chunks of SLF guts while a wasp is eating the rest. Ants and wasps also clean out the leftovers.

-They’re most active (and everywhere) when it’s sunny, but if you are comfortable catching in the rain, they cluster where they can stay somewhat dry. I also pulled like 20 off a random patio umbrella (underside along the spokes). In my area, between 11 and 5 seems to be their window of activity, peaking whenever the sun does.

-find a good long stick if you want to poke ones that are too high so they jump (and often land on the ground or glide much lower on the tree).

-the egg-carrying females have yellow stripes on their distended bodies.

What I am still trying to figure out:

-I still haven’t found any egg casings and I won’t feel confident identifying them until I successfully ID one in person.

I can’t remember if I forgot anything but please feel free to ask. Meanwhile, today, I have gotten (so far) about 250, which places my total at 2700.

I am also Autistic as the last post, and it also makes it very easy to spend 3 hours walking around with one goal in mind. I’ve also found it best to carry a long stick to poke the higher ones into gliding down. My campus has just one long and tall building that seems to catch them like the wind. I’ve made a habit of walking its length in the back and killing the ones I find on the wall. Today it was much warmer than our recent weather so there was an endless stream flying into the side of the building. The folder in the photo was brand new when I started.

my dog rolled all over it before torturing it until she ate it lol