I found this pest in a bowl of water on our deck, the second one I’ve found in a week. I didn’t realize what it was at first as I didn’t see any red in its wings, but Andrew did, and he crushed it down in the patio. Andrew said he and Queenie saw one while out on a walk. She was watching it and then suddenly put her paw out and stepped on it. Looks like she has the right idea about them.

I remember reading about them quite a while back in a warning that said they should be crushed on sight due to the danger they posed to trees and plants. This is part of what the New York Department of Environmental Conservation has to say about them:

“Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) or SLF, is an invasive insect pest from Asia that primarily feeds on trees of heaven (Alianthus altissima) but can also feed on a wide variety of plants such as grapevine, hops, maple, walnut, and fruit trees. While the full impacts of SLF are unknown, the insect will negatively impact the agricultural and tourism industries and may impact New York's forests. … After you have reported SLF in your area and collected a sample, you should kill any additional SLF you see by stepping on it or crushing it.”

Garden at Via Riyadh mall, posted earlier: