ASIAN LANTERNFLY UPDATE

What’s worse than finding a lanternfly in your Big Apple? Try millions of them. The dreaded, now-annual hatch of the invasive polka-dotted pests is less than a month away — leaving New Yorkers are bracing for a Biblical-level plague of the superbugs. Hailing from China, the spotted lanternfly first surfaced in Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, they’ve spread to 21 states, including NY in 2020 — despite city-wide directives to stamp out the scourge. MORE AT Exclusive | NYC lanternfly plague 2026 set to rebound after dip