GOLD COAST, QUEENSLAND – APRIL 06: Rain drops and a moth are seen on the advertising boards during the Beach Volleyball women preliminary Pool B match between Lliseva Ratudina and Laite Nima of Fiji and Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada on day two of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Coolangatta Beachfront on April 6, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Look, we're not saying you should start haphazardly smashing every bug you see. It's just this particular bug you have to take out, and for good reason.
Last week, Boston.com reported that the spotted lanternfly has landed in Vermont. Earlier this month, it was reportedly sighted in Rhode Island. "But it's so pretty," you might be saying. Sure, but here's the problem, according to Cary Giguere, Vermont's state director of plant health:
“If the pest did get established, it could affect our grapes, hops, apples, and maple,” Giguere said. Cherry and peach crops as well as hardwoods including maple, oak, and walnut species also are susceptible to damage, the agency said.
No hops? No beer. No maple trees? No maple syrup. So yeah, squash that spotted lanternfly if you see it in your travels this fall. Do it for beer. Do it for breakfast. Do it to keep New England's flora healthy.
