Spotted Lanternflies
People are naturally frightened or disgusted by creepy crawlies, and with that emotional impulse often comes the desire to squish them dead. It’s rare that experts and wildlife officials wholeheartedly encourage that desire, but that’s exactly what they’re encouraging people to do with the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula).
Believed to have arrived in Pennsylvania around 2014 from their native home in parts of southern China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, the striking-looking insect has since spread throughout the Northeast. They’re not a danger to humans, but they can ravage fruit-bearing trees and other agricultural crops while also leaving behind a sticky residue called honeydew that further hampers plant growth. Their eggs can also latch onto surfaces, including our shoes and clothing, very easily, allowing them to spread further.
The situation has gotten so bad that last summer, officials in New York and Pennsylvania explicitly told residents to stamp out any spotted lanternflies they see on sight, and plenty of people did just that. More commonly, though, they’re controlled through chemical pesticides.
