Northern Rhode Islanders shouldn’t be surprised to see a spotted lanternfly buzzing around their yard, as representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said reports of SLFs have nearly doubled compared to last year.

Native to China, the spotted lanternfly does not harm humans or animals, but can cause severe destruction to grape, apple, stone fruits, walnut, and other economically important trees such as maple, oak, pine, poplar, sycamore, and willow trees.

Adult flies are about an inch long and have scarlet underwings, yellow markings on their abdomen, and tan semi-transparent forewings. Young ones have bright red and black bodies with white spots, however at this time of year, it’s more common to spot a fully developed SLF.

According to the RIDEM, the sp

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