By GRACE KELLY/ecoRI News staff

A tiny, winged invader is making its way up the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Rhode Island is holding out, but only just so. The spotted lanternfly has already reached other states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York — and experts are worried that it could make its way here.

“There was one interception in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut,” said Cynthia Kwolek, senior environmental planner at the Rhode Island Department of Management’s Division of Agriculture. “An interception is when they find an insect but they don’t find any additional insects or infestations. But it’s usually an indicator that there are shipments going to this area from the infested area, and they usually find more infestations within a few years after an interception.”

Hailing from Asia, the spotted lanternfly made its first documented U.S. appearance in 2014, when a female snuck onto some imported building materials that were brought to Berks County, Pa.

“They are very good travelers, and their egg masses are relatively inconspicuous, so they lay their eggs on pretty much anything,” Kwolek said. “So if somebody is moving to another area from the infested area, they might not notice that they have egg masses laid in some of their tire wells, or in the undercarriage of the car.”