Such a Warm Winter! Does This Mean Spotted Lanternflies Will Come Back Early This Year?

No... it's too soon!

Too soon to be talking about the return about the pesky, invasive, destructive Spotted Lanternfly. We shouldn't have to be worrying about their return when it should feel like the dead of winter in New Jersey. Only it doesn't.

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This winter has been exceptionally warm, all things considered. There have been days where it's felt like spring, and we haven't even had to break out our snow shovels from the garage. So far the worst we've gotten was icy rain.

Here's what's become common knowledge to us who have been plagued by the spotted pests: They hatch in the spring, and they die in the winter when temperatures get very cold (around 28 degrees). So it begs the question:

Will the spotted lanterflies start hatching early this year since it's so warm outside?

Bug experts weighted in and according to them, We don't have a lot to go off on, since this is one of the warmest winters on record in New Jersey, so it's it's tough to say for sure, according to NJ.com:

"Even with this warm weather, it's unlikely that we'll see spotted lanternfly hatching now rather than their normal time in May... They time themselves to emerge at the same time foliage comes out on trees and shrubs. They are dependent on that green growth to feed on," says Brian Eshenaur, bug expert at Cornell University.

Long story short: Will we be seeing spotted lanternflies hatching in February? Probably not. March? Probably not. We'll see what happens when we get to April and May.

Hey, at least they're consistent!