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What Is a Spotted Lanternfly? East Coast Residents Warned of Destructive Insect
It threatens to weaken up to 70 plant species, including major crops.
Move over murder hornets, there’s a new trending bug in town (although, arguably less terrifying). Instead of threatening the bee population, this one—the spotted lanternfly—poses a risk to the East Coast’s major crops, including, but not limited to maple trees, apple trees, grapevine, and hops.
According to the New York State Department of Agriculture, the winged insect was spotted on Staten Island on August 14. The same week, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture reported that eight counties were quarantined due to an area invasion.
What is a spotted lanternfly, exactly?
The spotted lanternfly is an exotic insect native to China and South Korea that is an “excellent hitchhiker,” per the state of New Jersey. They’re approximately one-inch long and half an inch wide at rest, and spread most vehemently through human activity, which is why the state implemented quarantines for specific counties: Warren, Hunterdon, Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem and Somerset. Residents are asked to thoroughly inspect their cars for the unwelcome passengers before traveling.
The bug was first identified in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014, and is believed to have arrived on a cargo shipment. Since then, it has also been found in Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and Virginia.
Why is the spotted lanternfly so harmful?
The lanternfly feeds on more than 70 plant species, per New York’s Department of Agriculture, which causes the plants major stress. Additionally, it secretes a sticky “honeydew” which attracts other insects and molds that interfere with plant photosynthesis, which can stunt plant growth and ultimately, their harvest. The honeydew can also impact outdoor recreation due to the swarms of insects it attracts.
Is the spotted lanternfly dangerous to humans or pets?
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture says the bug is no threat to humans or animals, only plants.
What to do if you find a spotted lanternfly
New Jersey officials encourage residents to “destroy” the spotted lanternfly and/or its eggs if spotted, and report the spotting via email at Slf-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov or by calling 609-406-6943. The Tree of Heaven seems to be its preferred laying spot, and since surveying and treatments began in the state in 2018, more than 200,000 Trees of Heaven on almost 19,000 acres have been treated.
New York residents can report a sighting using the agriculture department’s online reporting tool. Additionally, residents should know the signs of a lanternfly infestation and be able to identify their eggs, as adults begin laying in September.
Signs of an infestation may include:
If you see a spotted lanternfly somewhere other than New York or New Jersey, contact your state’s agriculture department. “It will take a combined effort to help keep this pest from spreading,” New Jersey Department of Agriculture secretary Douglas Fisher said in a statement.
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Spotted lanternfly in NYC: Here are 5 ways to kill the speedy insect
Spotted lanternflies gather on a tree in Kutztown, Pa. The spotted lanternfly has emerged as a serious pest since the federal government confirmed its arrival in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. AP File Photo/Matt Rourke
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There’s been no debate about what to do if you see a spotted lanternfly — you should kill it, ASAP!
Called a planthopper, the insect is native to China and Southeastern Asia, and experts warn that it presents a serious threat to crops across the country, including in New York state and in nearby New Jersey.
So residents are urged to kill the bug immediately and report the siting to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, using the Spotted Lanternfly Public Report.
But here’s a heads up: If you see a spotted lanternfly — a flying insect sporting white dots on red wings — you won’t have much time to react. The insects are lightening-fast.
Discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, they present a threat to crops throughout much of the United States, according to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
They’ve previously been spotted in Delaware, Virginia and all across New Jersey, jumping through gardens, backyards, parks and farms.
Now, in a new stage of development, the destructive insects have grown wings and have been found on car windshields, in South Shore gardens and on patio furniture, Island residents reported.
While its list of hosts is large, the greatest agricultural concern falls on grapes, hops, apples, blueberries and stone fruits, reported Cornell’s New York State Integrated Pest Management Program.
The lanternfly is also known to feed on Tree of Heaven, poplar, maple and willow trees.
If you see one, act quickly to terminate it, environmental experts warn. Here are a few ways they advise us to do just that:
1. Squish it: The most foolproof way to kill a lantern fly is to stomp it out or swat it, though this can be tricky because the insect is so quick.
2. Scrape eggs off trees: In the fall, keep an eye out for spotted lanternfly egg masses. They’re brown, scab-like things on any flat outdoor surface, like trees, fence posts and rocks. If you find an egg mass, crush the eggs inside with a scraper or some other implement. Just press down hard on the thing.
3. Set traps: You can use sticky tape traps (available in home improvement stores) on your trees, not too high up from the ground, to trap them. This allows the lanternflies to climb up the trees and get stuck in the tape. When the tape gets crowded, dispose of it and replace it.
4. Use a shop vac: You can vacuum them up from your deck, patio and garden. Then add liquid soap and water to the vacuum’s reservoir to kill them, according to the gardening tip website IngraWorld.
5. Spray Weeds with vinegar: IngraWorld says that spotted lanternflies can be found on weeds. When this happens, a vinegar solution sprayed directly on the insect and the weed will kill both of them.
A non-native, invasive spotted lanternfly is seen Sept. 19, 2019, at a vineyard in Pennsylvania. (Associated Press) AP File Photo/Matt Rourke
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Cyber Sale! Lowest price of the year
Spotted lanternfly in NYC: Here are 5 ways to kill the speedy insect
Spotted lanternflies gather on a tree in Kutztown, Pa. The spotted lanternfly has emerged as a serious pest since the federal government confirmed its arrival in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. AP File Photo/Matt Rourke
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There’s been no debate about what to do if you see a spotted lanternfly — you should kill it, ASAP!
Called a planthopper, the insect is native to China and Southeastern Asia, and experts warn that it presents a serious threat to crops across the country, including in New York state and in nearby New Jersey.
So residents are urged to kill the bug immediately and report the siting to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, using the Spotted Lanternfly Public Report.
But here’s a heads up: If you see a spotted lanternfly — a flying insect sporting white dots on red wings — you won’t have much time to react. The insects are lightening-fast.
Discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, they present a threat to crops throughout much of the United States, according to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
They’ve previously been spotted in Delaware, Virginia and all across New Jersey, jumping through gardens, backyards, parks and farms.
Now, in a new stage of development, the destructive insects have grown wings and have been found on car windshields, in South Shore gardens and on patio furniture, Island residents reported.
While its list of hosts is large, the greatest agricultural concern falls on grapes, hops, apples, blueberries and stone fruits, reported Cornell’s New York State Integrated Pest Management Program.
The lanternfly is also known to feed on Tree of Heaven, poplar, maple and willow trees.
If you see one, act quickly to terminate it, environmental experts warn. Here are a few ways they advise us to do just that:
1. Squish it: The most foolproof way to kill a lantern fly is to stomp it out or swat it, though this can be tricky because the insect is so quick.
2. Scrape eggs off trees: In the fall, keep an eye out for spotted lanternfly egg masses. They’re brown, scab-like things on any flat outdoor surface, like trees, fence posts and rocks. If you find an egg mass, crush the eggs inside with a scraper or some other implement. Just press down hard on the thing.
3. Set traps: You can use sticky tape traps (available in home improvement stores) on your trees, not too high up from the ground, to trap them. This allows the lanternflies to climb up the trees and get stuck in the tape. When the tape gets crowded, dispose of it and replace it.
4. Use a shop vac: You can vacuum them up from your deck, patio and garden. Then add liquid soap and water to the vacuum’s reservoir to kill them, according to the gardening tip website IngraWorld.
5. Spray Weeds with vinegar: IngraWorld says that spotted lanternflies can be found on weeds. When this happens, a vinegar solution sprayed directly on the insect and the weed will kill both of them.
A non-native, invasive spotted lanternfly is seen Sept. 19, 2019, at a vineyard in Pennsylvania. (Associated Press) AP File Photo/Matt Rourke
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Disclaimer
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).
© 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
For States Dealing With the Spotted Lanternfly, the Policy Is No Mercy
The spotted lanternfly, an invasive species from Asia, is a voracious plant-eater and public nuisance that could cost state economies hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Adorned with pale, pinkish gray wings, black dots and a scarlet undercoat, the spotted lanternfly is a beautiful insect.
It’s also an invasive species and a rapacious consumer of plants that has a particularly strong appetite for apple trees, plum trees and grapevines.
If you see one, be ruthless, federal officials and agriculture departments from states up and down the Northeast have instructed.
Squash it and destroy its babies before they take over your county, they say.
If that seems harsh, consider this: They lay eggs by the dozens; they leave oozing sap on trees, vines and crops; and when they feed, they excrete a sweet substance that leads to the growth of black mold.
They cover trees by the hundreds and swarm in the air. The sweet substance they secrete, known as honeydew, has coated decks and playgrounds.
“These are called bad bugs for a reason,” said the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which has set up a hotline — 1-888-4BADFLY — for residents to report sightings. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture named its eradication campaign Stomp It Out. In Ohio, residents have been told to scrape off any lanternfly eggs they see on trees, double-bag them, and throw them away or immerse them in hand sanitizer or alcohol.
The need to stamp out the bug will grow even more urgent next month, when the adults must feed voraciously to reproduce so they can lay eggs around October and November, said Julie Urban, an evolutionary biologist in the Penn State entomology department who has studied lanternflies for two decades.
She said she had heard joggers in Pennsylvania parks scream when the insects landed on them. Yoga practitioners at a vineyard were unnerved one year when swarms of lanternflies began hitting them on the head, Professor Urban said.
She said she had collected pictures from homeowners who found their decks blackened by the sooty mold. They are so enraging, Professor Urban said, that about two years ago she saw a small girl take off her flip-flop and beat the insects at a pagoda that had become infested.
“It was horrible,” she said.
Sam Landis, a partner at Vynecrest Vineyards & Winery, said he had no qualms about smashing the insects.
“There’s nothing cute about them,” said Mr. Landis, who said he had been fighting infestations of his grapevines for four years.
In that time, lanternflies have killed off an acre or two of grapevines each year, Mr. Landis said, adding that the vineyard had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove dead vines, plant new ones and invest in insect repellent.
But in Mr. Landis’s experience, pesticides don’t do much.
“A day or two later, they’re back,” he said.
Lanternflies, which measure about one inch long and use their mouths to suck sap from plants and trees, are easy to kill, Professor Urban said.
“We joke that harsh language will kill it,” she said. “It’s pretty delicate for an insect that is so large.”
Most pesticides will kill them, and they are easy to catch and smash. They also die easily when heat or frost arrives. The most aggressive and effective way to stop their spread is to remove one of their favorite food sources: the tree of heaven, which is also an invasive plant, Professor Urban said.
The lanternflies’ best defense is in their ability to reproduce. They breed in huge numbers, laying 30 to 50 eggs at a time. Their eggs, which can be laid virtually anywhere, including on trees, trucks and the tops of railroad cars, take eight months to hatch, Professor Urban said.
“That gives them time to be transported via humans’ travel,” she said.
Despite its name, the lanternfly is a plant-hopper, not a fly. It first appeared in the United States in September 2014, most likely from China, Professor Urban said.
The insects were spotted on imported stone at a landscape supply center in Berks County, Pa., she added.
Since then, lanternflies have spread across the northeastern United States. In Delaware, the state Department of Agriculture is monitoring and trying to eradicate five satellite populations, said Stacey Hofmann, a spokeswoman for the agency. Reports of sightings keep coming from two counties, and the state is worried that a third may have become infested.
“People may not realize that the insect has fallen into the bed of their truck, hopped into their car or is on an R.V. or boat,” Ms. Hofmann said.
In New Jersey, eight counties have been designated “quarantine zones,” which means in part that residents should inspect their vehicles before they travel. In Pennsylvania, where there have been 18,000 reported sightings of the lanternfly, 34 counties are under similar restrictions.
Other states are worried about infestations. In California in 2019, dead lanternflies were found in cargo planes from Allentown, Pa. In Virginia, David Gianino, the state’s plant regulatory official, said lanternflies had laid eggs on railway tracks used by local and Amtrak trains.
In Delaware, residents have been urged to walk around their cars and examine grilles, wheel wells and mirrors to kill any potential stowaways, Ms. Hofmann said.
“They are surprisingly strong and will hold on even at high speeds,” she said. “Don’t be the reason that a new population gets established.”
‘Squash It! Smash It!’: Pennsylvania Implores Residents to Kill an Invasive Bug on Sight
Hordes of spotted lanternflies are flapping through the state, threatening agriculture. “They jump, they’re big, they’re scary,” one Pennsylvanian said. “It’s like all of your worst nightmares coming to fruition.”
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Pennsylvanians cannot stomp their feet fast enough.
They are trying. But no matter how many spotted lanternflies they crush underfoot, they cannot seem to keep the hordes of the invasive insect from flapping in their faces, sucking nutrients from valuable vineyards and lurking in their nightmares. Even after death, they pester commuters when their carcasses crunch underfoot on city sidewalks.
The inch-long creatures, which look a bit like moths and hide scarlet wings beneath gray spotted ones, moved into Philadelphia in recent weeks, swarming around parks and skyscrapers and drawing a clear response from officials: “Kill it!” a state website blares by way of advice to residents who encounter the flies. “Squash it, smash it … just get rid of it.”
In response to the insect infiltration, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has quarantined 14 counties — regulating what can be taken in and out — and has set up a portal and a hotline (1-888-4BADFLY) to report sightings of the species, which is native to parts of Asia.
The lanternflies have already been spotted in eight states, from Virginia to Massachusetts, leading to quarantines and yearlong abatement efforts. Left alive, the pests could continue flying into more states, injuring trees, reducing fruit yields and hurting farmers’ bottom lines.