If you’ve ever wondered what an infestation of spotted lanternflies looks like, wonder no more. When I was out with Sweetie on Monday, I spotted a few of them on a tree along our route. Then I realized, the tree was smothered in them, almost certainly numbering in the thousands.

My first instinct was to swat them. But barehanded, with that many of them? That would have become quite gross rather quickly.

And while I’m not comfortable with going into a stranger’s yard to grab the hose (a sharp stream of water will supposedly kill the lanternflies), I havereported the infestation to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. But honestly, I don’t expect them to do anything with the report, a map of all the spotted lanternfly sightings in Maryland is going to look an awful lot like a map of Maryland.

Until a heavy rain two weeks ago, the sidewalk under this tree had become dark and sticky with a constant appearance of being wet. That was frass (a polite word for “bug poop”).

I had thought the tree was a sumac, perhaps with an aphid infestation. Now I’m thinking it’s more likely tree of heaven. (Again, not my yard, else I would have it removed.)

Some good news about the spotted lanternfly is that some of our native birds and other critters are reported to have found them edible. (Caveat: Birds find the lanternflies less edible if the insects have been consuming tree of heaven – which is a reason to get rid of this invasive plant.)

A firsthand experience came on Thursday when my wife and I went out for dinner at the Washingtonian Center. While we were waiting for our table, I swatted a lanternfly which then fell into the lake. It barely had a chance to get wet before a fish ate it.