![]() ![]() Symptoms of an infestation are weeping wounds filled with sap and large amounts of “honey dew” (insect waste) will gather at the base of the tree and blacken the soil. They have piercing mouthparts that allow them to feed on the phloem of plants. Similar orders restricting the movement of items that could be infested with spotted lanternflies have been enacted in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, among others.Adult Description: The adult spotted laternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is a small but conspicuous insect with black spots on grayish forewings, and pinkish-red hindwings with black spots and thick striping. It prohibits host plants and a variety of items from any area where there is currently a spotted lanternfly infestation from entering the state. In July, California established a quarantine order to help prevent the introduction of the spotted lanternfly there. The student was reportedly unaware that the dead bug was an invasive species, and a judge at the fair had to report it to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Such was the case in Kansas this week, when a student brought a lanternfly to the state fair as part of their 4-H insect display box, according to The Hutchinson News. The risks posed by the lanternfly are triggering investigations and special protocols by states that fear its arrival could harm their communitiies. In China, they tend to get eaten by wasps, but not here. ![]() He said it is believed spotted lanternflies first hitchhiked to Pennsylvania from China in a shipment of stone. The bugs start laying eggs in September, he said, and baby lanternflies are more difficult to find and kill. Professor George Hamilton, the chair of Rutgers University's entomology department, told CBS New York last month that August was the best time to kill the insects, as that's when most of the adults are out. Invasive species may spread with help from climate change.The department said signs of a lanternfly infestation include sap oozing from "tiny open wounds" on tree trunks, one-inch-long egg masses that are waxy and mud-like when new and brown and scaly when old, and a massive buildup of honeydew and black sooty mold on plants. Little/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images It noted that in Pennsylvania, where spotted lanternfly populations are the densest, "people can't be outside without getting honeydew on their hair, clothes, and other belongings." Field technician Lott Miller holds a spotted lanternfly at Penn State Berks' Pfeiffer Farm in September 2018. The sticky mess and the swarms of insects it attracts can significantly hinder outdoor activities," the department said. "Although native insects also secrete honeydew, the size of and the large populations that congregate in an area result in large accumulations of it. The pests continuously feeding on plants also makes those plants more vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. "If you see a spotted lanternfly, squish it, dispose of it, and report it to us."Īccording to New York's Department of Environmental Conservation, the pest feeds on the sap of more than 70 plant species and excrete a sticky substance known as "honeydew," which attracts "large amounts of sooty molds" that negatively impact the plants' ability to photosynthesize, grow and yield fruits. "Spotted lanternflies are a threat to our city's forests," New York City's Parks Department tweeted. Photos of the creatures have flooded social media, with many expressing either a squeamish or violent response to being faced with the responsibility of killing a lanternfly. Spotted lanternflies on the side of the Berks County Services Building in Reading, Pennsylvania, September 28, 2020.īen Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images Growing numbers have been spotted in New York City this summer. in Pennsylvania in 2014, but it has now spread to at least nine states, primarily in the Northeast. They aren't physically harmful to humans, but they threaten everything from oak, walnut and poplar trees to grapes, almonds and fruit orchards. The lanternfly is an invasive species from China that wreaks havoc on agriculture. But as the species continues its trek across the U.S., federal and state officials have a unified message: If you come across the insect, kill it. At first glance, the adult lanternfly is a beautiful spectacle with spotted, bright red wings and a little bumble bee-esque body.
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