Country Life

NEW YORK— If you happen to see a spotted lanternfly, invasive insects that feed on more than 100 host plants until their leaves curl and wilt and render them vulnerable to fatal diseases, squish it and let New York agricultural officials know you did it.

With speckled light brown forewings and scarlet and black hind wings, they’re so darned pretty that killing them may seem counterintuitive, but it’s one of the best defenses against these planthoppers, which agricultural officials are trying to stop before they spread into western states.

Spotted lanternflies, first discovered about a decade ago in Pennsylvania, are established in 14 states — Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. And they have been reported in several others, including Utah, California and Oregon, where dead lanternflies have been observed. It’s unclear if the planthoppers naturally migrated there, or if they hitched a ride on products like landscaping plants, firewood and other products that move across the country.