Flies are nuisances, whether they be a common housefly or a horse fly. But have you heard of the spotted lanternfly? It’s a nuisance on a grander scale. It’s considered to be beautiful by some…but deadly by all. Spotted lanternflies won’t harm you. Your crops, however, are a different story.
Don’t be deceived by the insect’s relative beauty: the inch-long body of an adult lanternfly has beige oval-shaped front wings that are dotted with black and are speckled at the tips. Its hind wings are red with black tips, and its abdomen is colored with yellow and black.
Although the lanternfly doesn’t sting or bite, it is an invasive insect that preys on 70 different species of trees and plants. It is particularly harmful to fruit crops, including orchards and grape vineyards, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The bugs suck sap from hardwood trees and vines using straw-like mouths that can pierce through bark. This process causes stress, especially since the flies tend to swarm their food sources. Without enough sap to create energy to produce new leaves in the spring a tree could die if it doesn’t store sufficient nutrients over the winter.
Another threat posed by lanternflies is that when they feed they coat bark and leaves with a sticky residue called honeydew, which can cause the growth of fungus or black mold and block the sunlight a plant requires for survival.
According to the University of Florida, the spotted lanternfly has a preferred tree on which to feast and lay its eggs: the tree of heaven. Tree of heaven has been documented in Florida as far south as Hillsborough County. Other potential host plants, like chinaberry and Virginia creeper, may help this invasive pest gain a foothold in The Sunshine State.
Lanternflies have been spotted in states including Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana.
