Hi. Wondering if you can identify this bug and if needed, control. Seems to be a new problem this/last year. If they’ll live their lives in peace af...
Knowledgebase
a bug, and lots of them! #927623
Asked April 06, 2026, 11:05 AM EDT
Hi. Wondering if you can identify this bug and if needed, control. Seems to be a new problem this/last year. If they’ll live their lives in peace after this clear swarming period, fine. If they’re spotted lantern flies, I’ll hit em with the hose! Anne Arundel County, Stony Creek waterfront, Pine Haven, Pasadena. Many thanks!
Anne Arundel CountyMaryland
Expert Response
No, they are not Spotted Lanternflies, which look quite different (see the linked page for more info.) and which are not adults (having wings) in spring. Lanternflies only reach adulthood in late summer and the adults die by early winter. It's hard to see enough clear detail to identify these insects, but they might be crane flies, which do not bite and are good food for hungry birds, frogs, dragonflies, and other wildlife. Control or intervention should not be needed.
Thank you! I didn’t know what a lantern fly baby looks like! Is hard to get a good shot with the angle if the sun right now, but I will look more into crane flys and see if I can get a better photo later in the day.
Thank you! I didn’t know what a lantern fly baby looks like! Is hard to get a good shot with the angle if the sun right now, but I will look more into crane flys and see if I can get a better photo later in the day.
Baby insects don't have wings; immature insects only develop wings when they are adults. In many cases, "baby" or juvenile insects also look nothing like the adults in terms of body shape, size, and how they move about (they may walk, crawl, or jump, since they cannot fly, and some juveniles have no legs at all). Fly juvenile life stages are maggots, with no legs, and they require moisture to breed in. That could be a pond, stream, creek, or wetland depending on the species: some need running water, some still water, and some tolerate polluted or very scummy water sources very well.
If not crane flies, these may be midges (they are smaller than most crane flies, though we don't have a sense of scale without a ruler in the photo), both of which are types of flies that have aquatic larvae. Only a small number of midge species can bite people, and with that many hanging around the yard, you'd know it if they were seeking out bites. Sometimes adult insects are attracted to night lighting, especially if they are night-active species, and sometimes they just want to warm up on a sun-lit surface (or shelter in a shady site on a warm day). In either case, the adult stage of these insects is often quite short and they should be gone fairly soon, especially if some of them get eaten by birds and other animals.