Get ready for a new dance sensation: The Lantern Fly Stomp. If you see one, kill one. They’re on their way, and coming fast.
Get ready, get set, start stomping. The only way to naturally blitz the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive pest from Asia, is to crush it with your feet the minute you see it. This, the latest plague to join the ranks of daily annoyances, primarily feeds on trees but also on a wide variety of plants such as grapevine, hops, maple, walnut and fruit trees. They’re infesting agricultural industries and New York’s forests.
The city has experienced such a share of natural hostility—from the pandemic to foul air from wildfires to rat infestations—that residents naturally expect natural disturbances of biblical proportions. But enough is enough. If you thought water bugs were bad, just wait until the Lanternfly comes to a block near you. This is the message of SVA MFA Design student Raven Mo, who was assigned to design a cautionary campaign. She chose to protest the current infestation of these brightly colored moth-like marauders. And since there is no safe way to rid the city of them, there is only one defense against them: the stomp.
Don’t let their pleasing coloration fool you—each fly has a lot of destructive power. Let’s hope it is no match for strong graphic design.
