NEW YORK — An invasive species that has devastated forested areas in New York City has been removed from the city’s endangered list.

The New York State Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced the decision Thursday.

The woodpeckers that have made their way into the city are a species of a family of wood-dwelling woodpecks called the white-tailed woodpecking bug.

They have been reported in more than half of the city since December.

They’ve spread through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont and have killed hundreds of trees and vegetation in recent years, the commission said.

The commission said that in its previous statement that the woodpeaker was “the most destructive pest species on the island of Manhattan” and “invasive” to all of New York state.

The commission said the wood-pecker was also listed as an invasive species by the National Park Service in 2011.