Leonardo DiCaprio 'free to squish' spotted lantern flies, says expert
Leonardo DiCaprio has made a name for himself as an environmentalist but a recent photo showing the actor stomping on spotted lantern flies might raise some eyebrows
The Titanic actor was seen out in Chelsea in New York City with his mum and her partner. The family outing turned violent when Leo squished some of the bugs with his feet and then continued on his day.
Spotted lantern flies are originally from Asia, and were first spotted in America in the state of Pennsylvania in 2014. Dr. Kacie Athey, a Specialty Crops Entomologist and Extension Specialist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, believes they got to the country by "hitching a ride on something" either trade-wise or just by a world traveler.
Leonardo was caught stomping on the bugs in New York (Diggzy/Jesal / SplashNews.com)
The actor squished bugs as he spent time out with his mum and her partner (Diggzy/Jesal / SplashNews.com)But is Leonardo doing the right thing? Is the 90s heartthrob being a hypocrite when it comes to his environmentalist views as he stomps on the bugs the way he reportedly stomps on the hearts of anyone over 25? Dr. Athey shared her official recommendation on whether or not to kill the bugs.
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"Squash it is what we're still telling people," She said, "which is not something we normally say as a control strategy."
Dr. Athey explained: "It is a legit thing to do. it is kind of interesting. It is definitely, in the time that I've been doing entomology, the first time that a large campaign was just 'no seriously, squish that thing.'"
"They don't bite, they don't hurt you. we're not doing anything dangerous for the public," she added.
The bugs have taken over many East Coast states (Diggzy/Jesal / SplashNews.com)
The actor and environmentalist did the right thing (Getty Images for Netflix)She calls the spotted lantern flies a "nuisance pest." They make plants "sort of gross to be around" and while it feeds on over 100 different plants, "it doesn't do commercial damage to a lot of things like we thought it would," she said.
Though they've been here almost a decade, spotted lantern flies have made the news in recent months for various reasons, according to Dr. Athey, but the biggest is that they're appearing in more states across the country. The bugs are mostly found on the East Coast in states like Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, and Delaware. But if you're in another state, while you should squish them, snap a quick picture before.
"What we would like is if someone would take a picture of it and kill it, unless you're in a place where they're already active," Dr. Athey said, You should send the picture to Cornell University, as they're leading the tracking research on the bugs. But if you're like Leonardo and in New York, "feel free to squish as many as you want."
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