PROVIDENCE — Have you recently seen a blur of bright red on a sidewalk or a tree, moved a little closer to see an insect with spotted wings — and then, hopefully, taken your shoe or a stick and squashed it?

You aren’t alone. Reports of the invasive spotted lanternfly are booming in Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and yes, the agency says, you should squish them.

“This surge is expected this time of year because spotted lanternflies (SLFs) are in their adult life stage and are much more visible, prompting more reports,” according to DEM spokesperson Evan LaCross. The lanternfly nymphs, also spotted, are smaller, with coloring that varies from the signature bright red of the adults’ wings to subtler blues and blacks.

Since DEM created a form to report the pests, the agency has received 6,536 suspected sightings. More than 40%, or 2,707 reports, have been made so far this year.

Compared to this time last year, Rhode Island has seen almost triple the number of reports of the spotted lanternflies.

“We expect to continue receiving more reports than last year,” LaCross said.

The reported insects have been concentrated in Providence and Kent counties, LaCross noted, in such high numbers that “we’re no longer requesting reports from Providence, Pawtucket, and North Providence. Instead, [we] are prioritizing sightings from Bristol County, Newport County, and [Washington] County.”

A heat map, published by the agency, shows a high density of sightings in Rhode Island’s urban core, with fewer reports of the insect in the more rural areas of the state, like Washington and Newport counties.

Of the sightings reported to ecoRI News through its own social media poll, all were from in and around Providence.

From Providence’s Summit neighborhood to the grounds of Lincoln Woods State Park, residents told ecoRI News that they’d found them in their houses and backyards, on homegrown grape arbors and on popular walking trails.  

The state originally confirmed the insects were breeding in Rhode Island in 2022.

A combination of feeding on sap and secreting a sugary substance onto plants that causes mold contribute to the invasive bugs’ destructive nature. They prefer grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the lantern flies were first identified domestically in 2014 in Pennsylvania. Currently, 19 states have some sort of spotted lanternfly infestation.

“SLF poses the greatest threat to agricultural operations like vineyards, orchards, and small fruit farms,” LaCross said. “To protect these industries, DEM [is] focusing monitoring and response efforts on high-risk locations, like transportation hubs and agricultural areas, where SLF can cause the most damage.”

DEM encourages residents to report spotted lanternflies through its form and then kill the bugs.