Latest news with #SpottedLanternfly
National Geographic
01-08-2025
- Science
- National Geographic
Should you still squash spotted lanternflies? Here's what to know
Scientists and lawmakers alike are looking for ways to combat these invasive insects. But do they still present the same environmental harm as we originally thought? Spotted lanternflies have become a major issue in the Midwest and Northeast, and are particularly affecting the wine industry. Photograph By Marc McAndrews/Redux Late summer is that notorious time of year when spotted lanternflies transform from inconspicuous, polka-dotted nymphs to big, bumblebee-sized insects clinging to tree trunks and fluttering through the air. These non-native insects in the planthopper family were accidentally introduced to the U.S. in 2014—possibly on an international shipment bound for Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. While harmless to humans—and actually rather beautiful to behold, thanks to their crimson and yellow markings—the bugs feed on over 70 different kinds of plants and trees in the U.S. alone, making them an invasive species. They have a taste for certain plants, namely tree of heaven—also an invasive species from Asia—as well as native species, such as black walnut, several species of maple, hops, and grapevines. The threat posed to American agriculture is why a bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced a bill called the Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act, which would make competitive grants available for research projects related to the mitigation of the invasive species. "Across our community, I hear time and again about how devastating these pests can be,' says Pennsylvania Representative Chrissy Houlahan in a press release. 'Whether you're a farmer, a homeowner, or just someone who enjoys the delicious produce grown by our community's farmers, the invasive Spotted Lanternfly poses a serious problem.' Here's what to know about the invasive species, and what's being done to minimize their harm. Where guests are guardians (Inside the race to kill an invasive menace—before it gets to a town near you.) Why spotted lanternflies are so bad for plants While lanternflies don't appear to kill most trees outright, as was initially feared, large aggregations can affect plant health. As true bugs in the order Hemiptera, spotted lanternflies suck nutrients out of host plants with mouthparts that act like a hypodermic needle. 'It's really different from what most insects do, which is chew on plants,' says Holly Shugart, an entomologist and postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University. Spotted lanternflies sucks the nutrients out of plants, which can weaken them and potentially lead to their death. Photograph By Marc McAndrews/Redux Worst of all, the spotted lanternfly is a skilled hitchhiker, able to cling to surfaces that travel at high speeds, such as cars and trains. Their putty-like egg masses, each of which contain between 30 to 50 eggs, can survive months of extreme weather and cold on a variety of surfaces, such as tree bark or the side of a shipping container. Where are spotted lanternflies wreaking the most havoc? Since arriving in the U.S., spotted lanternflies have exploded in number and can now be found from Massachusetts and Virginia to Illinois and Tennessee. Unfortunately, the insects arrived in a new location last year—one long feared by those in the wine industry. 'We've always told the growers in the Finger Lakes, it's not a matter of if they get here. It's when they'll get here,' says Hans Walter-Peterson, a viticulture specialist for Cornell University's Cooperative Extension. (Invasive spotted lanternflies have a taste for grapes—what does that mean for wine?) When too many lanternflies siphon nutrients from a grapevine, they can reduce fruit yields, affect fruit quality, and even kill the host plant. They can also transmit nasty pathogens to those plants, such as black sooty mold. Because of these factors, researchers in one study estimated that in Pennsylvania alone, spotted lanternflies could lead to an economic loss of $554 million annually and almost 5,000 jobs. Can we eradicate spotted lanternflies completely? While people in parts of the Northeast and Midwest are already well aware of the insects, and some have even been smashing them on sight—as many local governments and scientists have suggested—vigilante bug hunters won't be enough to curb the spread, experts say. Fortunately, however, there's evidence that native predators are starting to get a taste for the foreign insect. In lab tests, spined soldier bugs and Carolina mantises have proven to be effective lanternfly predators, and blue jays, cardinals, chickens, spiders, yellowjackets, and ants have all been observed eating lanternflies out in the wild. Lanternfly-sniffing dogs are also emerging as a promising new avenue in the effort to prevent these spotted insects from popping up in new places. Just as canines have been trained to sniff out explosives, drugs, and even viruses like COVID-19, the animals may also be a critical tool in the fight against invasive species. (Learn how dogs put their noses to work sniffing out wildlife.) 'Pretty much everything has a smell,' says Sally Dickinson, a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech. And that goes for spotted lanternfly egg masses, which the insects produce in the fall and secrete in out-of-the-way hiding spots. In nature, that might mean the underside of a branch, but in human-dominated environments, that includes metal or plastic, like a railroad car, just as well as wood. Other researchers are working on new pesticide formulations and application methods, but so far, no one has landed on a silver bullet solution to the lanternfly problem. That's why funding new science on eradication is so critical. 'This invasive pest inflicts severe damage, threatening not only our crops but the livelihoods of hardworking farmers and the very future of our agricultural communities,' says New York Congressman Langworthy in the press release. 'This crisis can no longer be ignored.'
IOL News
07-07-2025
- Science
- IOL News
Lovebugs swarm South Korea's cities and hiking trails
A portion of Incheon is seen behind a cloud of lovebugs. Image: Jintak Han/The Washington Post Lovebugs - so named for how the male and female cling together as they mate in flight - are swarming South Korea. They can be seen in the hilltops that dot South Korea's bustling cities. They're on the windows of high-rise office buildings. They're on sidewalks, inside convenience stores, on hiking trails and all over city streetlights. They're everywhere. The bugs are harmless, but they are becoming increasingly annoying to the country's more than 50 million residents. 'I thought it was the apocalypse,' said Kim Jaewoong, a 36-year-old welder who ran into a swarm of these bugs last week on Gyeyangsan, a small mountain in the port city of Incheon, an hour drive west of Seoul. Mating lovebugs cover the side of a rock. Image: Jintak Han/The Washington Post Kim was jogging up the mountain on his usual weekend exercise route on Saturday and noticed clumps of dead and live plecia longiforceps, better known as lovebugs. the dark, winged insects typically measure just under half an inch. There were many of them, but Kim shrugged them off, thinking he would see fewer on the mountaintop. At the summit, dead lovebugs were piled up in mounds up to 4 inches tall, he said. Adult lovebugs have a lifespan of three to seven days, according to South Korea's Ministry of Environment. 'It became difficult to breathe. If you tried to breathe, you would get them in your nose and mouth,' he said. The insects are not native to South Korea. The first photographic evidence of the lovebugs in South Korea is from 2015 in Incheon, according to Shin Seunggwan, an associate professor at Seoul National University's School of Biological Sciences. Shin suspects they could be from China's Shandong Peninsula, home to lovebugs whose genetics are the most similar to those in South Korea. 'We haven't confirmed they're from there,' Shin said. 'But it's the likeliest place of origin,' he added. A municipal worker at the Gyeyangsan peak sprays water to clean dead lovebugs off of the stairs. Image: Jintak Han/The Washington Post The lovebugs are expected to abound in South Korea for the next several years, possibly a decade or more, according to Shin. Adult lovebugs have no natural predators and have high breeding rates, he said. Animals that could feed on the insects need time to learn they are edible. It took at least a decade for native animals to recognize other nonindigenous species in Korea like the American bullfrog and Spotted Lanternfly as prey, he said. It took 30 years for adult lovebugs in Florida to become prey, he added. Climate change could be a factor in their proliferation, Shin said. South Korea's temperatures have risen by 1.4 degrees Celsius, or 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit, in the last 30 years compared to the 1912-1941 period, according to government tallies. But the more direct cause for the explosion of the lovebug population here, Shin said, is likelier to be the urban heat island effect - a term used to describe how cities are hotter than rural areas due to the abundance of concrete and the lack of natural shade. Higher temperatures in urban areas - where lovebugs tend to be found - allow more of the insects and their larvae to survive the winter, he said. Gyeyangsan, while covered with trees, is in the urban Incheon area. At the bottom of Gyeyangsan on Thursday, store owners were busy trying to keep out the pesky insects, warning patrons to close the door quickly to prevent more of the insects from entering the establishment. But they were already getting settled - resting on the floor, the freezer windows and the lights.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DEC launches public challenge to combat invasive species impact
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — It is Invasive Species Awareness Week in New York State and its all about sharing why people should care about those invasive critters and what people can do about them. Tuesday, News 8 spoke with the Department of Environment Conservation on the topic and they have recently launched a challenge for the public in honor of it. It encourages New Yorkers to report sightings of invasive species like the Spotted Lanternfly. If you want to participate, you can log into the state's database and submit a report. Then, you'll be entered in a chance to win prizes. 'Depending on the species, they can have a huge impact on the environment or economy or agriculture,' Andrea Nieves with the DEC said. 'And they're really a people problem. They wouldn't have been in an environment like New York unless people brought them here, so getting everybody together is sort of the best solution. Having the public report them and work with their local organizations.' The annual week is usually observed the first week of June. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Is West Virginia done with winter weather for the season?
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — After seeing frost advisories and even snow in parts of West Virginia on Wednesday, April 16, things are looking up for West Virginians who are ready for summer. The StormTracker 12 Weather team predicts that Wednesday will stay chilly, but by Thursday, afternoon, spring weather is expected to return and stick around. Temperatures will remain warm for the rest of the week with highs in the 70s for the lowlands. Weather forecasts are generally accurate about seven days out, but the National Weather Service NOAA Climate Prediction Center is indicating that it will likely stay warm for the next month. Temperature outlooks released over the past week indicate that there is a decent chance of above average temperatures in West Virginia. For April 21-25, there is a 60-70% chance of warmer than normal temperatures across the Mountain State; for April 23-29 there is a 50-60% chance; and for April 26-May 9, there is a 50-70% chance, depending on where you live in the state. The same is true for most of the rest of the country. Invasive Spotted Lanternfly spreading across north central West Virginia NOAA Climate Prediction Center Outlooks predict the probability of temperature being above or below normal, not how much temperature is expected to deviate from the normal. Also, the predictions do not claim to be 100% accurate, so even if there is a 70% chance of warmer weather, there is still a roughly 25% chance of normal temperatures and a 5% chance of cooler than normal weather. It is possible that West Virginia could see winter-like weather return after those outlook dates. In 2023, West Virginia saw record-breaking snow in May when up to 20 inches fell in some parts of the state. However, the three-month outlook released in March predicted a 40-50% chance of above average temperatures in April, May and June, so although there might be a few chilly days mixed in, if the outlooks are accurate, there will be more warm days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Quarantine for invasive Spotted Lanternfly ends in Virginia
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – A quarantine established in 2019 to slow the spread of the Spotted Lanternfly has officially been repealed on March 27. The Spotted lanternfly is an invasive planthopper that feeds on plants like grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees. They typically feed in large numbers and excrete a fluid that damages plants. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) made the announcement on Thursday, and the change removes all regulatory requirements restricting intrastate movement of the spotted lanternfly, as well as anything capable of moving the insect in Virginia. However, interstate movement of spotted lanternfly or articles capable of moving the spotted lanternfly may still be regulated by the importing state. Get ready to stomp! Spotted lanternflies are about to reappear in Virginia The areas of Albemarle, Augusta, Carroll, Clarke, Frederick, Page, Prince William, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Warren, and Wythe counties and the cities of Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester were under spotted lanternfly quarantine. The quarantine was first created in 2019 in Frederick County and the city of Winchester in an attempt to slow the spread to uninfected regions of the Commonwealth. The quarantine was then expanded to 12 additional counties and ten cities as the invasive species population grew across the state. VDACS has determined that the quarantine is no longer effective, and as of March 2025, sixty-seven cities and counties have reported a persistent reproducing population of the spotted lanternfly. Businesses transporting products capable of carrying the insect to other states or other countries with import restrictions will need to obtain or maintain their existing spotted lanternfly permit, establish a compliance agreement, or request a phytosanitary certificate. VDACS will continue to monitor spotted lanternfly spread to uninfested areas, and the agency encourages the public to continue to submit reports through VDACS' Office of Plant Industry Services Invasive Species Reporting Tool. Please visit for more information or contact the VDACS Office of Plant Industry Services at (804) 786-3515. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
