As I was watching a five-lined skink on our deck, he suddenly darted for an insect — a spotted lanternfly.

He meticulously chomped on the body, seeming to lick his lips. He discarded the wings as too chewy.

Five-lined skinks are small lizards that love to bask in the sun. The young lizards have gorgeous blue tails that turn brownish red as they mature. They leave white droppings with black tips on the porch.

Skinks are largely insect eaters, and we are glad they have added lanternflies to their menu.

A forester had told us earlier this year that invasive lanternflies were finding local fauna willing to eat them. Woodpeckers, spiders, praying mantises and skinks are munching on them, helping reduce the population.

Six years ago, we visited family in Pennsylvania and had lanternflies ho

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