Experts warn New Yorkers about 'sex-crazed' pests expected to swarm city: 'It's a huge increase'
The spotted lanternfly, a highly destructive invasive insect, has caused damage to crops and ornamental plants across the United States, including in New York. Experts say the state should prepare for another likely invasion, as swarms have already been spotted around New York City.
According to The New York Post, which called them "sex-crazed," lanternflies are "back in full force" in Northeastern states after their population saw dramatic declines last year.
For example, Kelli Hoover, a professor of entomology at Penn State, noted that an egg count conducted at a Pennsylvania vineyard in 2024 revealed approximately 1,700 egg masses per row, representing a significant increase compared to the previous year.
"It was almost nothing and then — boom — now they're back in big numbers," Hoover said. "It's a huge increase."
The voracious pests have also started hatching in and around the Big Apple, much to the dismay of New Yorkers. Jacob Leeser, a member of Cornell University's Integrated Pest Management Program, said the insects have hatched around two weeks earlier than usual because of warmer-than-average temperatures.
A temporary decline in their numbers over the past several years could signal an upcoming surge, as the insects typically disappear for a while when food availability is scarce. As its primary food source, a plant called the Tree of Heaven, regenerates, it tends to rebound as well.
Spotted lanternflies aren't actually flies — they're planthoppers in the same order of insects as cicadas, aphids, and other hopping bugs. The insects aren't only a nuisance to people, but also pose a significant threat to the economy, as they damage important crops such as apples, peaches, and grapes, as well as other fruit trees and timber. The National Park Service reported that the bug feeds on over 70 different plant species and has a major impact on forest ecosystems.
Spotted lanternflies are native to China, India, and Vietnam, and were first spotted in the U.S. in 2014, likely hitching a ride on shipments from Asia. Hoover told the Post that the bugs have now been detected in 18 states, and entomologists are working to prevent them from spreading to vineyards in California and causing further economic harm. Invasive species, such as lanternflies, are detrimental to native plants and animals, as they outcompete them for resources and contribute to ecological disruptions.
By conserving natural resources and our shared environment, and eradicating harmful species before they can cause serious damage, we can safeguard our food supplies and ensure other species have healthy habitats.
Leeser explained that most New Yorkers have simply stomped or crushed the insects in the past, but sucking them up with a vaccuum may be an easier and more effective option. However, he noted that if residents use this method, it's crucial to wait at least 48 hours before emptying the bag. If you have them in your home, don't worry; experts say they can only live for around 50 hours, as house plants aren't part of their diet.
Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species?
Definitely
Depends on the animal
No way
Just let people do it for free
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Meanwhile, entomologists are combating the spotted lanternfly using a combination of trapping, insecticides, and exploring biological control methods. Scientists and wildlife experts are also employing robots equipped with artificial intelligence and detection dogs to identify and remove egg masses before they can hatch.
Studies show that squashing the pests is effective, which means you may not have to use dangerous chemicals to control them that could harm other plants and wildlife.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Experts warn New Yorkers about 'sex-crazed' pests expected to swarm city: 'It's a huge increase'
The spotted lanternfly, a highly destructive invasive insect, has caused damage to crops and ornamental plants across the United States, including in New York. Experts say the state should prepare for another likely invasion, as swarms have already been spotted around New York City. According to The New York Post, which called them "sex-crazed," lanternflies are "back in full force" in Northeastern states after their population saw dramatic declines last year. For example, Kelli Hoover, a professor of entomology at Penn State, noted that an egg count conducted at a Pennsylvania vineyard in 2024 revealed approximately 1,700 egg masses per row, representing a significant increase compared to the previous year. "It was almost nothing and then — boom — now they're back in big numbers," Hoover said. "It's a huge increase." The voracious pests have also started hatching in and around the Big Apple, much to the dismay of New Yorkers. Jacob Leeser, a member of Cornell University's Integrated Pest Management Program, said the insects have hatched around two weeks earlier than usual because of warmer-than-average temperatures. A temporary decline in their numbers over the past several years could signal an upcoming surge, as the insects typically disappear for a while when food availability is scarce. As its primary food source, a plant called the Tree of Heaven, regenerates, it tends to rebound as well. Spotted lanternflies aren't actually flies — they're planthoppers in the same order of insects as cicadas, aphids, and other hopping bugs. The insects aren't only a nuisance to people, but also pose a significant threat to the economy, as they damage important crops such as apples, peaches, and grapes, as well as other fruit trees and timber. The National Park Service reported that the bug feeds on over 70 different plant species and has a major impact on forest ecosystems. Spotted lanternflies are native to China, India, and Vietnam, and were first spotted in the U.S. in 2014, likely hitching a ride on shipments from Asia. Hoover told the Post that the bugs have now been detected in 18 states, and entomologists are working to prevent them from spreading to vineyards in California and causing further economic harm. Invasive species, such as lanternflies, are detrimental to native plants and animals, as they outcompete them for resources and contribute to ecological disruptions. By conserving natural resources and our shared environment, and eradicating harmful species before they can cause serious damage, we can safeguard our food supplies and ensure other species have healthy habitats. Leeser explained that most New Yorkers have simply stomped or crushed the insects in the past, but sucking them up with a vaccuum may be an easier and more effective option. However, he noted that if residents use this method, it's crucial to wait at least 48 hours before emptying the bag. If you have them in your home, don't worry; experts say they can only live for around 50 hours, as house plants aren't part of their diet. Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Meanwhile, entomologists are combating the spotted lanternfly using a combination of trapping, insecticides, and exploring biological control methods. Scientists and wildlife experts are also employing robots equipped with artificial intelligence and detection dogs to identify and remove egg masses before they can hatch. Studies show that squashing the pests is effective, which means you may not have to use dangerous chemicals to control them that could harm other plants and wildlife. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Researchers have a radical plan to thwart Trump's war on science: Talking to people
Scientists searching for a cure for cancer have no trouble finding public support. But for those studying potato disease, it's a tougher sell. The Trump administration seems to have banked on the idea that the public will see much of scientific research as wasteful or arcane. It has slashed — or proposed slashing — billions in research funding. Faced with this existential crisis, academics are seeking new ways to rally public and political support to fight the cuts and preserve their funding. Enter a group of Cornell University graduate students with an ambitious plan to change the way people think about science. They have recruited more than 500 researchers across all 50 states to write op-eds for local news outlets, to be published over the next week. The idea, said Emma Scales, a Cornell doctoral student involved in the effort, is to have scientists introduce themselves to the public. 'It's speaking to people who are angry about not knowing where their money is going,' Scales said. 'Like, 'Hey, I'm one of those people using your money. I'm sorry that we haven't talked, but let me tell you what I do.'' The McClintock Letters, as the project is known, is one of several efforts underway by graduate students and faculty members with the same goal in mind. They reflect a growing recognition that researchers can't take public support for granted. If they don't act now, many are starting to realize, public trust in scientists will continue to slide and the funding may never return. Science Homecoming, a letter-writing campaign, encourages academics to focus on the role government dollars play in science. Stand Up for Science, a new nonprofit, is planning a series of demonstrations at state fairs and farmers markets, along with teach-ins at churches and open lab days this summer. Another new organization, Your Neighborhood Scientist, publishes essays by researchers and tries to encourage community-based conversations about science. Audrey Drotos, a University of Pennsylvania neuroscience researcher who co-founded Your Neighborhood Scientist, sees efforts like hers as a way for scientists to share their own excitement. 'We don't want to just add more noise to the system,' she said. 'We're trying to humanize scientists — that's really the underlying goal.' The inspiration for the McClintock Letters took root in February, when Isako Di Tomassi, a doctoral student studying plant pathology, vented online about losing her Ph.D. adviser at the U.S. Department of Agriculture after widespread government layoffs this year. Some online commenters were sympathetic, Di Tomassi said, but one person insisted that the cuts had stopped 'stupid research,' and many others expressed confusion as to what universities were even studying. Few seemed to see the value in their work. Di Tomassi and Scales brainstormed with the Cornell Advancing Science and Policy Club about what to do in response and landed on the idea of having researchers tell their own stories. They named their effort after Barbara McClintock, the late Cornell cytogeneticist who won a Nobel Prize, and planned it around her birthday, June 16. Her research on the genes in corn changed scientists' understanding of heredity and laid the foundation for treating genetic defects in humans. 'Barbara McClintock is famous as hell,' Di Tomassi said, 'but maybe not to a nonscientist because she studied corn DNA. So most people will be like, 'Who cares about corn DNA?'' But that's exactly the point, Di Tomassi said: bridging the disconnect between what the scientific community knows and what the average person understands. Even mundane-sounding experiments can help fuel medical and scientific breakthroughs, she said. Researchers have signed up to write about breast cancer metastasis, how memories are formed and sustainable grape-harvesting, among other things. They are on track to reach 8 million potential readers, based on the organizers' back-of-the-envelope calculations of each news outlet's audience size. During a June 6 webinar, Katherine Xue, a microbiologist at the University of California, Irvine, walked some 100 people through how to write an op-ed. She showed them a 2015 op-ed by Newt Gingrich that called for more research funding as a template. Xue reminded them to avoid jargon and make it personal. She plans to write for a newspaper in her hometown of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, about how a high school internship got her interested in microbiology. 'As scientists, we're trained to stay impersonal and to take ourselves out of the equation,' Xue told NBC News. But there's a downside to that approach, she said. 'I think a lot of people haven't met scientists and don't know a lot about what we do and why, which means it's easy to distrust science as a whole.' Recent polling backs up her point. While 76% of Americans have confidence in scientists, that's down from 87% in 2020, surveys by the Pew Research Center show. Pew also found a majority of Americans believe that scientists are not good communicators, and that nearly half think scientists view themselves as superior to others. Silly-sounding research projects have long been a political punching bag. Some senators have issued annual reports flagging what they consider wasteful spending on science. During Trump's March speech to Congress, he rattled off a list of what he deemed ridiculous projects funded by the Biden administration, including research he incorrectly described as making mice transgender (it actually looked at the role of hormones in health and fertility). The White House defended the president's remarks. In response to questions about research cuts, White House spokesman Kush Desai said they were in line with what voters want. 'The American people gave President Trump a resounding mandate to realign government spending to better reflect their priorities,' he wrote in an email. 'The Administration is committed to delivering on this mandate.' For her new book, 'The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog,' Carly Anne York, an animal behaviorist at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina, profiled a handful of scientists who have engaged directly with disparagers to defend their research. One professor profiled in the book responded to mockery of her work as 'Shrimp Fight Club' by joining other academics in setting up a mini-science fair on Capitol Hill, where she shared that the research into how shrimp fight had generated interest in designing new types of body armor for humans. 'I wish that more scientists would think that way,' York said. 'This is actually our burden to make sure the public understands why their taxpayer dollars go to us, what we do with it, and why what we do matters.' So will the McClintock Letters or other campaigns work? Students and faculty members planning to participate aren't sure, but many say that's not the only goal — and hope they go further. For Michael Lubell, a physics professor at City College of New York and a former public affairs director for the American Physical Society, their success will depend on whether there's an ongoing effort to connect with the public. Lubell said they should meet people in person as well — at Rotary Clubs, churches and temples, or in PTA meetings. 'If you're going to try to do something and get people to come to you, you're only going to get a sliver of the population to do that, and I don't think that'll move the needle,' he said. 'Go where they are — see what they value. You may be surprised.' This article was originally published on
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Axolotls' Regenerative Abilities Could Teach Scientists a Thing or Two About Medicine
Axolotls might be cute enough to feature in a wide variety of games, TV shows, and children's toy brands, but that's not all that makes them special: The species is also exceptionally good at regenerating lost limbs and organs. Thinking that these smiling salamanders might have something to teach modern medicine, researchers in Boston are unpacking the molecules responsible for axolotls' rapid regrowth. One molecule in particular could someday help heal human wounds and replace lost limbs. The molecule is retinoic acid, according to a paper published Tuesday in Nature Communications. Human bodies make retinoic acid out of vitamin A (obtained by eating fish, dairy, and vegetables) and occasionally receive it through cosmetic retinoids, which are used to treat acne. The molecule is key to cell growth, and if too much of it is absorbed during pregnancy, it can lead to serious birth defects. In axolotls, retinoic acid takes that role a step further. Biologists at Northeastern University have found that axolotls rely on a retinoic acid signaling gradient, which allows different concentrations of the molecule to work in various parts of the body. Their shoulders, for instance, contain more retinoic acid (and less of the enzyme CYP26B1, which breaks it down) than their palms. When an axolotl loses its arm, the retinoic acid in its shoulder tells its fibroblasts, or regenerative cells, how to build a new one. This axolotl is regenerating an arm after an attack. Credit: HTO/Wikimedia Commons (public domain) According to Northeastern's write-up, this discovery led the researchers to conduct experiments that were, in their words, "pretty Frankensteiny." Adding bonus retinoic acid to an axolotl's hand allowed it to grow a duplicate limb, for example. But simply injecting a human with extra retinoic acid won't allow them to generate new body parts. Now, the researchers are working to untangle "shox," short for the "short homeobox gene." This gene activates whenever retinoic acid signaling increases in an axolotl's body, suggesting that shox plays a part in limb regeneration. Indeed, removing shox from an axolotl's genome caused it to grow "very short arms," albeit with normal-sized hands. Understanding how retinoic acid and shox collaborate will be the next step toward wielding axolotl insights in human medicine. "If we can find ways of making our fibroblasts listen to these regenerative cues, then they'll do the rest," said biologist and study co-author James Monaghan. "They know how to make a limb already because, just like the salamander, they made it during development."
