Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
New Yorkers are spotting their share of lanternflies this season. Since these colorful pests first arrived in New York City in 2020, they’ve inspired curiosity, calls to stomp them, and fear about their ability to harm trees and other plants.
They also caught the attention of NYU biology professor Kristin Winchell and doctoral student Fallon Meng, who study how wildlife adapt to cities. The researchers are exploring how factors like urban heat and human transportation are enabling spotted lanternflies to thrive and spread in the US, including to colder regions.
NYU News took a trip with Winchell and Meng to Central Park, where spotted lanternflies were plentiful on a tree of heaven, another invasive species and a favorite host plant for lanternflies.
New Yorkers are spotting their share of lanternflies this season. Since these colorful pests first arrived in New York City in 2020, they’ve inspired curiosity, calls to stomp them, and fear about their ability to harm trees and other plants.
They also caught the attention of NYU biology professor Kristin Winchell and doctoral student Fallon Meng, who study how wildlife adapt to cities. The researchers are exploring how factors like urban heat and human transportation are enabling spotted lanternflies to thrive and spread in the US, including to colder regions.
NYU News took a trip with Winchell and Meng to Central Park, where spotted lanternflies were plentiful on a tree of heaven, another invasive species and a favorite host plant for lanternflies.
