It looked almost beautiful.
Perched on my maple tree one humid afternoon, it fanned its wings — gray with black spots, then whoosh — a flash of crimson red beneath.
Like a tiny, winged jewel.
I almost didn’t want to hurt it.
Then I pulled out my phone.
One photo.
One search.
One chilling result:
Spotted lanternfly.
Lycorma delicatula.
Invasive. Destructive. Destroy on sight.
That pretty little bug wasn’t a marvel of nature.
It was a home wrecker.
A tree vampire.
A one-insect apocalypse.
And if you see one?
Squish it. Smash it. Salt the earth.
Because this isn’t just a bug.
It’s an ecological emergency.
๐ Meet the Enemy: The Spotted Lanternfly
Native to China, India, and Vietnam, the spotted lanternfly hitched a ride to the U.S. on a stone shipment in 2014, landing in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Since then, it has spread across 14+ states — creeping through the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and into the Midwest.
And unlike most bugs, it doesn’t just live on plants.
It destroys them.
๐ณ What Makes It So Dangerous?
The spotted lanternfly may look delicate, but it feeds like a monster.
Here’s how it kills:
