OK IM #DISTURBED.
Yesterday I learned something that genuinely unsettled me about my own backyard research.
Last year, I was seeing spotted lanternfly nymphs everywhere—and even more strangely, their exoskeletons scattered all over the grass like empty little victories. I googled it at the time, and to be fair to me, there wasn’t much clear information. So I built what felt like a very reasonable theory: something is eating them. Nature is finally stepping in.
I was, honestly, relieved. I thought I was watching proof of an ecosystem pushing back.
I even collected the exoskeletons in a jar as evidence.
My husband called it disgusting, then later “accidentally” knocked the jar over while leaf blowing, and my collection flew out into the void like dust in the wind.
Anyway….
Yesterday I learned the truth: they weren’t being eaten at all.
They were molting. Getting stronger. Upgrading. Not leftovers from a feast, they were discarded skins from a population successfully scaling up.
So what I thought was nature winning… was actually my worst nightmare…it meant there was an infestation (information that is now conveniently available online, unlike last year)
And I cannot stress enough how disturbed I was by that realization.There was no predator. No balance. No victory.
Just me, emotionally invested in discarded bug skin.
#DISTURBED #NatureDetective #LanternflyLies #NotPredatorsJustGrowth
ZOE ANN LARSON 