Spotted lanternfly
The spotted lanternfly is an invasive plant-hopper insect native to China, notable for its striking red wings and colorful speckling. Since its introduction to the United States in 2014, it has spread across fourteen states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia, posing significant threats to diverse plant life, particularly economically important species like grapevines, maple trees, and birch trees. These insects primarily feed on the sap of trees by piercing their bark, causing internal and external damage that stresses the plants. Spotted lanternflies reproduce rapidly, with a single female capable of laying 30 to 100 eggs in a season, and they lack natural predators in the U.S., exacerbating their population growth.
The economic implications are profound, with potential losses estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars annually in regions where these pests are prevalent. While they do not pose a direct threat to humans, their feeding habits can lead to the secretion of a sticky substance known as honeydew, which attracts other pests and promotes mold growth. Efforts to control their spread include inspecting vehicles and cargo, destroying egg masses, and employing grassroots eradication strategies. Overall, the spotted lanternfly represents a significant ecological and economic challenge in areas where it has established itself.
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Spotted lanternfly
A spotted lanternfly is a plant-hopping insect that originated in China. It is notable for its bright red wings as an adult and colorful speckling. These insects became a significant news item in the 2010s and 2020s as their populations spread invasively into states in the American Northeast. Characterized as a destructive pest, the spotted lanternfly is known to target and damage economically important plants such as grapevines, maple trees, and birch trees.
Experts have warned that in the United States the insect has no natural predators and may reproduce exponentially unless contained and controlled. People are encouraged to carefully inspect interstate vehicles and cargo for signs of lanternfly infestation and to destroy eggs, larvae, or adults whenever encountered.
Background
Spotted lanternflies follow a predictable life cycle. They hatch as nymphs in the late spring. Although these nymphs cannot fly, they are able to hop and climb, and typically travel up trees in this manner in search of prime vegetation to eat. As nymphs, the insects have six legs and mostly black bodies, which are covered in an exoskeleton that is speckled with white. While they are growing, however, their bodies take on bright red elements in addition to their black and white markings.
After weeks of feasting on plant life, the insects shed their exoskeletons and become adults. As adults, they have large wings that are folded in a tent-like manner over the back. They structurally resemble moths and other similar-looking insects. With their wings closed, they have a mostly brownish-gray color and black speckles. However, with their wings spread, they reveal bright-red underwings and colorful bodies.
The spotted lanternfly spends much of its adult life feeding on trees and other plants. Female spotted lanternflies begin to lay masses of eggs in the early autumn months. They produce rows of eggs on trees, plants, or other surfaces. The quantity of eggs produced in a single mass ranged from thirty to fifty. A highly fertile spotted lanternfly could produce two egg masses, meaning that it could generate from sixty to one-hundred eggs in one season. Many females protect their eggs with a brownish-white secretion that dries and fragments over time. This covering falls away by late spring when the new nymphs begin emerging from their eggs.
Overview
The spotted lanternfly, classified as a plant-hopper, is native to China and other parts of Asia but has spread to other parts of the world, notably the United States, where it first appeared in 2014. As of 2023, the US Department of Agriculture has reported sightings in fourteen states: Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The insect’s preferred meal is the so-called Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima). However, this insect is known to eat about seventy types of plant life. Some plants commonly targeted by spotted lanternflies include maple trees, birch trees, black walnut trees, willow trees, and grapevines. Many of these plants are economically important, leading to financial as well as natural harm.
Experts have characterized the insect as a danger to a wide variety of trees and plants. It is also likely to bring significant damage to many industries in areas it is invading. Some industries likely to be affected include the hardwood lumber industry; the harvesting of apples, grapes, and peaches; and the production of beer and wine. Potential damage to the economy may become significant. Penn State researchers found that the Pennsylvanian economy might lose some $324 million each year as the result of spotted lanternfly activity.
These insects are of no direct harm to humans since they have no capability for biting or stinging. Rather, their mouths are developed for processing and eating plant parts, and they can cause significant damage to this plant life. To eat, spotted lanternflies pierce the outer surfaces of trees and then suck out tree sap. This process injures the tree both externally and internally and creates harmful stress for the plant. After feeding, the spotted lanternfly excretes a material called honeydew, which is sweet and sticky and draws wasps and other creatures to the plant. It also promotes the growth of mold and fungi that may further damage the tree. In addition, the fungi may spread or leak onto other surfaces, including outdoor furniture and vehicles.
Spotted lanternflies do not have natural predators in the areas they are invading in the American Northeast. Because of this, their fast spread and brisk procreation may create a gigantic and unstoppable multiplying population, which could bring extensive damage to many tree species and other types of plants.
In areas under invasion by the spotted lanternfly, many experts have recommended individual and grassroots efforts to eradicate living insects and interrupt their reproduction. Quarantining procedures may advise or require that people traveling between a destination with spotted lanternflies and a destination without them carefully check their vehicles and cargo for stowaway insects. This can be particularly important for vehicles carrying lumber, tree branches, and other plant cargo likely to contain spotted lanternflies or their eggs.
People may swat, stomp, or otherwise kill any spotted lanternflies they encounter. They may target egg masses on trees and other plants, ideally by scraping them off the surface into a container of alcohol or other chemical that will kill the eggs. Other tools might prove effective in combating infestations on trees such as nets or flypaper wrapped around tree trunks. This can catch both walking larvae as well as flying adults.
Bibliography
“Spotted Lanternfly.” Maryland Department of Agriculture, mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/spotted-lantern-fly.aspx. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
“Spotted Lanternfly.” Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 2023, www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants‗Land‗Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted‗lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
“Spotted Lanternfly.” Pennsylvania State University, extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
“Spotted Lanternfly.” U.S. Department of Agriculture, 15 Feb. 2023, www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/sa‗insects/slf. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
“Spotted Lanternfly.” U.S. Department of Agriculture, www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.