Photo by Walthery via Wikimedia Commons
Soon after we reported that a spotted lanternfly had made an appearance on an Upper West Side terrace – hoping and believing it would be an isolated incident – emails and comments describing similar sightings started pouring in.
People reported seeing them all over the Upper West Side.
One of our readers – ‘Mark Says Hi!’ – tells us that after leaving his daughter’s swim class this past Sunday, he saw one on the sidewalk behind the pool building (between 97th and 98th Streets on Columbus Ave).
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After he took the picture below, “it flew right at my daughter and I,” he said. “It had beautiful red wings tucked under the gray ones shown in the pic.”
In this video – taken by @michelekraussart from her apartment on 90th and Riverside Drive – it actually looks like a spotted lanternfly is waving at her. Maybe it’s excited about this newly acquired infamy.
Others say they’ve seen spotted lanternflies in Central Park and Riverside Park, on Governor’s Island, on the Upper East Side, in the Financial District and beyond.
Sharing the news on Instagram, we heard from people who spotted them in Astoria, Pennsylvania (where they were first spotted in 2014), Connecticut, and again throughout the city.
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One Instagram user said “These are horrible! They’ve destroyed the trees at my in-laws place in PA. There’s one now but there will be thousands later. Super invasive little beasts!”
And this is why it’s recommended to kill these things at first site. The invasive spotted lanternfly, which hails from China, Vietnam and India, is known to kill trees, plants and all types of crops, and several counties in New Jersey – where they’re really having a field day – are actually under a quarantine because of the pests.
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Gothamist reports that one person saw about twenty spotted lanternflies in Brighton Beach over the weekend, and on August 10, Manhattan Bird Alert took a bird-break to report a sighting by the Central Park Pool.
Over the weekend we saw this SPOTTED LANTERNFLY by the Central Park Pool. It is an invasive pest, dangerous to trees and plants. If you see one, kill it—as we did—and report it to the NYS DEC. https://t.co/8Hujll7C9t pic.twitter.com/AhX0FeoM97
— Manhattan Bird Alert (@BirdCentralPark) August 10, 2021
Here’s a 2018 video (and warning) from New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, which describes how easily they can spread and what to keep your eyes peeled for.
Those who spot this spotted monster are encouraged to take a photo and email it to spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov and Forest.Health@parks.nyc.gov.
But definitely kill it first.
Typical arrogant human thinking: kill any other living thing simply because it may be adversely affecting our environment. These creatures, like all others, have their place in the PLANETARY cycles, and should be allowed to live and carry out their functions. It is one thing to kill a creature that could kill us in large numbers. But if the planet doesn’t mind what they do – and it doesn’t – then we should let them be.
This creature has its place on the other side of the earth. Our ecosystem isn’t built to withstand them. That’s why they’re called an invasive species.
If humans didn’t exist, the spotted lanternfly would simply go about its business, and the “destruction” it causes (which is part of a natural cycle) would simply regenerate over time. It is called “balance,” and it is HUMANS who f— up that balance.
Don’t be so sure about that. There are plenty of invasive species that wind up taking over an ecosystem to the point it never really recovers. People brought the spotted lanternfly to this area and now people have to rectify that problem for the sake of all the other living things in our local ecosystem that will be harmed by the destruction this insect causes. We owe it to our fellow travelers. Won’t you think of the squirrels, who live in the trees?
Your thinking is still narrow (i.e., human), based on a brief timescale and a misunderstanding of planetary (i.e., natural) cycles. No insect could cause destruction on a scale that the planet – and its other living creatures – could not recover from. It is only our arrogance as a species that allows us to think that way.
Cool, you keep thinking about planetary cycles and the rest of us will try to help the trees that we have here and now resist a scourge that people have brought on them.
Your use of the word “scourge” is exactly what I am talking about. Nature doesn’t consider them a “scourge”; just another part of the cycle.
But that is one of the great things about humans; we have the ability to make choices as we see fit. Sadly, it doesn’t mean we always make the right ones, or even understand why we make the choices we do.
Indeed, humans are the invasive species.
Fortunately for Gaia, we’re self-exterminating.
Sad as it is, you are exactly correct. Thank you.
You’re quite welcome. And the sooner we’re all gone, the better it will be for the planet, wouldn’t you say?
Sadly, yes.
Equally sadly, many of the people ready to squish spotted lanternflies because of the damage they are doing to trees – because they feel the need to help protect the planet (which does not need protecting) – are some of the same people are don’t give s— about climate change or pollution, etc. They have huge carbon footprints, don’t compost, etc. But the lanternfly has to die!!
I trust this is a message you convey to your congregation!
My “congregation” has been the homeless on the street. And they have much more serious things to be concerned about. 🙁