‘This Is Going to Be a Bad One:’ States Try to Contain Spread of Tree-Killing Lanternfly

Source: Virginia Cooperative ExtensionOak, black walnut, and maple are all high-value species for the forest industry, and they also happen to be a favorite snack of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive species whose spread is continuing to cause concern in Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to a Washington Post report.

The sap-sucking planthopper hails from East Asia and was first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, then found in Virginia last year. Experts expect the spotted lanternfly to continue to expand its presence into neighboring states, mostly by hitchhiking onto cars and trucks passing through.

“Unfortunately, this is going to be a bad one,” Mark Sutphin, a county extension agent in Virginia, told the Post of the spotted lanternfly’s threat. “It’s a pest of numerous agricultural crops, it’s a pest of the forest industry, and it’s a major nuisance in home landscape.”

The lanternfly feeds by sticking “strawlike mouthparts” into the vascular systems of trees, according to the report. Its favorite tree is the tree-of-heaven, itself an invasive species, but it also feasts on 70 other species, including native oak, black walnut and maple. The result is a severely weakened tree.

Pennsylvania has spent millions of dollars researching ways to combat the spotted lanternfly, and locations where it has been discovered have been quarantined. Scientists are now studying a species of parasitic wasp from China that could be introduced as a predator to the lanternfly.

In the meantime, Virginia researchers are asking that people familiarize themselves with the life stages of the spotted lanternfly in order to report any sightings of the unwelcome insect to the Virginia Cooperative Extension service.