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Why Virginia officials want you to kill this bug if you see it

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RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia officials are urging citizens to kill a destructive bug if they see it. The spotted lanternfly colonizes quickly, disrupts native ecosystems, and can potentially cause problems to agriculture and forest health. It’s also a significant threat to Virginia’s grape and wine industries.

Spotted Lanternflies
A smashed spotted lanternfly sits on the ground in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022.

“We need to prevent spotted lanternfly from going somewhere else and becoming a bigger problem. Make sure it does not move on vehicles or plants and remove and squish any you find,” said Eric Day, manager of the Insect ID Lab in the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology. Click here to continue reading on the Henrico Citizen.