The spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect indigenous to parts of China, India and Vietnam, has now infested Providence County and several other areas in Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
The red-winged bugs were first spotted in R.I. in August 2021, but relatively warm temperatures last winter caused the population to rapidly grow this year, said Cynthia Kwolek, a senior environmental scientist at RIDEM. Local sightings have also spiked since June, she added.
According to RIDEM’s sighting map, Providence has reported the most spotted lanternfly sightings across the state…