See it? Squish it! Fighting the invasive spotted lanternfly

By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press

The word is out in New York City and beyond. If you see a spotted lanternfly, stomp it. Kill-on-sight requests in New York City and elsewhere are a part of public campaigns to fight an invasive insect now massing and feeding on plants around much of the eastern United States. Though pretty with red wing markings, the spotted lanternfly is a nuisance and a threat. In cities, it swarms outside buildings and lands on pedestrians. It excretes a sticky substance called honeydew that can collect on outdoor furniture. The sap-sucking insects are also a threat to grapes and other agricultural crops, which is raising alarms this summer in New York state wine country.