Why does killing a bug feel wrong?

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The episode explores the ethical dilemma surrounding the mass extermination of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive species devastating to East Coast agriculture. Host Sally Helm recounts her own

Key takeaways

• Scientist Julie Urban explains that spotted lanternflies arrived via stone shipments from Asia around 2014 and rapidly spread through Pennsylvania after initial containment measures failed.
• Public outreach campaigns encouraged citizens to stomp bugs to prevent hitchhiking, but data suggests individual stomping has minimal impact on overall population levels compared to targeted insecticides.

Main topics

• Spotted lanternfly invasion
• Conservation ethics and moral philosophy

Notable quotes

"if you don't kill it, you're going to carry it."

Conclusion

The episode reframes invasive species management not as a simple civic

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:01) Support for this show comes from The Guardian and their new show, Stateside, where journalists Kai Wright and Carter Sherman use the entire independent reporting resources of The Guardian to slow down the news and wrestle with the questions we all have about what's actually happening in the world. Join Kai and Carter three times a week as they utilize all the reporting resources The Guardian has across news, international coverage, climate, culture, wellness, and much, much more. Go to theguardian.com slash stateside to learn more and listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube. That's theguardian.com slash stateside. Speaker 8 (0:43) Hey, it's Sue Bird. I'm back this week with a brand new episode of Bird's Eye View. I am joined by Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama to discuss bringing his unique coaching style to the WNBA and channeling this year's momentum into the Fire's next season. But first, Coach Sarama and I break down the action from round one of the playoffs. Make sure to check out Bird's Eye View on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (1:07) Hey, it's Jonquilin. Today, The Gray Area is bringing you an episode from one of our other favorite Vox podcasts, Unexplainable, a show that tackles unanswered questions in science. Like this show, Unexplainable wrestles with questions that don't always have clear answers. This episode starts with a simple question. Should you kill a spotted lanternfly? If you know, you know, but... They are everywhere, and they're sparking quite the controversy. What follows is a surprisingly deep exploration of moral responsibility, the limits of expert guidance, and the emotional cost of making imperfect choices. I hope you enjoy Speaker 1 (1:52) it. Speaker 1 (1:55) Okay, I have returned today to a scene from my past. This is where I was standing last summer when I saw a bug. Skittering up this tree trunk was a very distinctive bug. It has a polka dotty sort of wing with red underneath. This unmistakably Speaker 7 (2:17) was a spotted lanternfly. Speaker 8 (2:21) The spotted lanternfly may be pretty small, but it has the potential to cause big problems. The invasive species showing up around the tri-state area this summer. These gray and black dotted bugs that are said to be destructive pests that feeds on more than 70 different plants that are critical to the state's agriculture. So Speaker 1 (2:41) I knew what this thing was. I had seen these many times before. They are all over Brooklyn. They took off around 2020, 2021. Speaker 1 (2:49) And so I Speaker 4 (2:49) knew what I was supposed to do in this situation. Authorities say if you see one, you're asked to kill it. You heard right. Kill the bugs. So I ran after it. I ran up to this tree and I Speaker 1 (3:04) remember I tried to stomp it like on the tree, which is hard to do. So it got away from me and I was going after it again. And then this is what I remember most. This Speaker 4 (3:17) woman. She yelled at me from down the street. And I don't remember exactly what she said, but the spirit was like, yeah, get it. Get the lanternfly. And this is not the first time I've had that kind of interaction. Like, this has definitely been the vibe. Speaker 8 (3:32) Welcome to New York, guys, where citizens have turned merciless mercenaries to protect nature. Your friend Lanthropog, and ask him about it. Ask him what happens when you f*** with New Jersey. Huh? No, he ain't here? I wonder where he went. Maybe under my f***ing shoe. Speaker 4 (3:47) Like, people really, really got on board with just the mass murder of bugs. And I, in that moment, was actually feeling Speaker 1 (3:57) really ambivalent. Because, like, on the one hand, it... did feel good to be a part of this big civic project with my neighbor. And also it is satisfying to kill one of these bugs. Like it feels like you're almost scoring a point in a game. Speaker 1 (4:11) But I also kind of wanted to say to her, like, isn't it weird that we're all just happily participating in this big project that is about killing living creatures? And we're like giving each other high fives over that? Something about it just feels also really bad. Speaker 1 (4:26) And I did not say any of that. I was kind of just like, oh, it was a lanternfly. But now, lanternfly season is coming again. There's a chance the lanternflies are above me in this tree right now, like getting ready to hatch. Speaker 1 (4:43) And I'm once again going to be faced with essentially a moral question of a kind that comes up in conservation all the time, where we're forced to choose between different types of beings and their lives. So the question is, should I personally be killing these invasive lanternflies? And also just, what is the right way for any of us to think through that kind of decision? Speaker 6 (5:29) Support for this show comes from The Guardian. Trying to locate news sources that reliably separate fact from fiction can feel like looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack. Social media feeds, cable news, and subscription-based news outlets might be able to give you one version of the news, but not in the way that you need. You want the news fast, but slow enough to actually absorb it. Stateside with Kai Wright and Carter Sherman is here to do just that. The podcast wrestles with the big, important questions about the world at your own pace. Three times a week, hosts Kai Wright and Carter Sherman bring their expertise together to showcase different yet engaging perspectives on the news, international affairs, climate, culture, sports, lifestyle, fashion, and wellness. Go to theguardian.com slash stateside to learn more and listen wherever you get your podcast or watch on YouTube starting May 13th. Speaker 8 (6:29) So like any good millennial, I have a love-hate relationship with Gen Z. It's the phenomenon rattling millennials. They just look at you. They want something bigger themselves. Lifestyle is a priority. Motivation is being inspired. But regardless of how you feel about Gen Z. It's undeniable that they're changing national politics. Generation Z is increasingly showing less loyalty to traditional political parties, many now more likely to identify as independent. So what is going on with the kids? I think the biggest misconception about Gen Z's politics right now is that all of a sudden they're all socialists. That is just not the case. They are embracing candidates who are offering new, bold ideas in the absence of those ideas from establishment Democrats. This week on America Actually, Gen Z researcher Rachel Jamfaza joins us to separate Gen Z fact versus fiction. It's not rocket science. And this is, you know, I keep saying like young voters aren't that complicated after all. It's pretty simple. Catch us every Saturday on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (7:34) Support for the show comes from Bombas. A wise person once said, coziness starts with the feet. That wise person was me, just now. But it's true, and Bombas gets the job done. They have specialized designs for travel, everyday, workout, and recovery. Merino wool blend socks keep your toes warm. Sweat wicking sports socks are perfect for fall race training. There are dressy styles for those fall weddings. And then there's the Bombas compression sock collection. If you want another layer of coziness, check out their new suede moccasins with cushy soles, a shearling lining, and water-resistant suede. Plus, their slippers are everything you'd want for a night in, made with the softest, squishiest materials. Our colleague Nisha has tried Bombas. Here's what she had to say. Speaker 8 (8:15) My whole family, my husband and my daughter, wear Bombas. My family loves to eat Bombas. gift Bombas. And my three-year-old daughter has several pairs of Bombas. They Speaker 3 (8:25) have great toddler and kid socks that have grips on them. Bombas has a great mission. For every item you purchase, they donate an essential clothing item to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased equals one donated, with over 200 million donations and counting. Head over to bombas.com slash gray area and use code gray area for 20 % off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S dot com slash gray area code gray area at checkout. Speaker 4 (8:58) One of the first people to learn that the lanternfly had arrived in the United States was a scientist named Julie Urban. An old acquaintance of hers unexpectedly left her a message. Speaker 5 (9:10) You know, Julie, this is Leo. Call me back. I'm like, they found it. They got it. It's here. I knew instantly. You Speaker 4 (9:18) knew Speaker 5 (9:18) just from that? I haven't talked to the guy in like years, right? You Speaker 4 (9:21) were like, it's the lanternfly. It's got to be. Totally. Wow. Oh, my gosh. How'd Speaker 5 (9:25) you feel? Freaked out. Totally freaked out. Speaker 4 (9:28) The lanternfly had been Speaker 7 (9:30) on Julie's radar because she studies the group of insects that it belongs to, the planthoppers. And Speaker 4 (9:36) she got into that work Speaker 7 (9:37) not Speaker 4 (9:37) because she was interested in invasive species management, but because she was into evolutionary biology. And she just thought that