NEW YORK—Shoving passersby and street vendors out of the way as he maintained a hot pursuit, biologist Luke Thompkins was reportedly chasing an invasive moth species Friday through a crowded Chinatown marketplace. “Stop that moth! It’s already ravaged dozens of local tree populations!” the Columbia University ecology researcher was heard shouting after spotting the invasive Death’s-Head Hawk-Moth lingering on a bubble tea shop’s outdoor table and failing to swat it before it raced into the busy marketplace streets. Sources confirmed that Thompkins then lost sight of the moth, only to discover it fluttering in place in front of a dragon costume in order to blend in. The tenured biology professor then trailed the moth down an alley, ducking under crimson lanterns, where the insect darted through a chain-link fence that he then scaled to continue the chase. At press time, the biologist had turned around the corner of a neon-lit dim sum restaurant only to discover the moth holding a 9-millimeter pistol pointed directly at his head.