Fairfax County is seeing spotted lanternflies return, and officials are telling residents the best time to deal with them is now, while the insects are still tiny nymphs marked in black and white, rather than later in the summer, when the familiar red-winged adults emerge.
What’s happening?
The bugs have begun showing up again around the Virginia county, and officials are asking residents to kill them before they reach adulthood and spread more widely, FFX Now reported.
At this point, they are nymphs: small, black insects with white spots that tend to stay low on herbaceous plants, often hidden underneath leaves or along stems. By July, most reach the final nymph stage, which features more red without any wings yet, and they are already much more “springy” and agile by this point.
The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services says those nymphs should become full adults with wings, then able to reproduce, as soon as July and August, so the current period is an important chance to control them…