I see them on my walk to Willow Lake, and I try to kill them. I'm not sure invasive species need to always be killed, but their initial insertion needs to be fought.
They were first spotted in 2014 (source). "...it zealously feeds on the sap of more than 70 plant species, leaving them susceptible to disease and destruction from other natural antagonists, threatening to set back the fight against climate change." (NY Times)
"The last time the city faced a threat of this kind was approximately 15 years ago, when the Asian long-horned beetle made its incursions, having entered the country in wooden packing materials. Half of the trees in New York were vulnerable to it, and the invasion resulted in a huge deforestation. First sighted in Brooklyn in 1996, the beetle wasn’t fully eradicated from the city until 23 years later." (NY Times)
"...all of the sudden interest in the spotted lanternfly is simply another indication of our blinkered approach to managing our ecosystem, singling out one villain when we ought to be thinking holistically. “Because we have a wine industry in New York State, there’s a lot of concern,” she said. “As soon as there’s a commercial dollar sign involved, there’s attention. But there are a lot of invasive plants in New York City that are more destructive.”" (op cit)
Links
9/21/24 Update:
"Spotted lanternflies, which are native to parts of Asia, were first detected in the United States in 2014 in eastern Pennsylvania. The insects pose no danger to humans, but they are agricultural pests, feeding on the sap of grape vines, fruit trees and other plants. They are also hardy travelers."
"“The invasion wave, as we call it, has dissipated somewhat,” said José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ecologist at Rutgers University."
"Over the last few years, some birds, spiders and wasps might have learned that lanternflies could make a tasty meal; these predators might now be helping to keep the lanternfly population in check, establishing a new ecological equilibrium. “I think they’re just integrating into our ecosystem,” Ms. Moore said of the lanternflies."
"In some places, the masses of lanternflies might also simply have moved on after chewing through their favorite foods. That might explain why the numbers appear to have fallen in Manhattan but not on Staten Island, where plants are more plentiful."
"This year’s reduced numbers might also be a temporary blip. Maybe climate conditions were less favorable for the bugs this year. Or perhaps the city will see the population boom, bust and then boom again over multiple years. “My gut would tell me that we’re probably going to see some type of a cyclical pattern develop,” Mr. Logue said."
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